That's a good idea! I didn't trust myself to drive backwards without fishtailing, but I should probably try to make that work for the reason you described, because that would be sick.
I can't help but notice that your weapon is wasting a whole lot of energy on making a loud buzzing noise, i. e. moving air. Maybe a more aerodynamic blade could save that energy for the opponent's chassis?
Cheesecake's record (as of video) Official fights: 41(37)-15(7) Exhibition fights 2(1)-2(2)-1 Though Cheesecake's record may have broken the 40 win barrier and earned its first exhibition wins, it has come at a great cost. Quite an unfortunate showing, culture shock is nothing to mess with. Based on what we have seen there are a few issues that need to be addressed: grip, power, and new iterations of control bots. It will definitely be interesting to see how Alex addresses these. Hard luck this time around but goodluck to anyone who wants to take a bite of Cheesecake.
Alex, really appreciate your content and everything you are doing for the combat robot community! Super stoked to be the “Spiritual Brother” to cheesecake. Look forward to our next fight! Keep up the great work 👍
@@dirtdart81 That's fair. I was thinking how much magnets helped LowLowMan, but I forgot to consider the fact that LowLowMan is low. The only other option I see working then is fatter wheels, but Cheesecake doesn't have the space or the spare weight to take fatter wheels
I found myself rooting for Cheesecake like I do my local football team. Sad to see him only go 2:2 but what a ride. Makes for a good redemption arc for Cheesecake too as he heads back out West next year for revenge 😂
What really impresses me about Free Throw is its ability to just bend away when it takes a hit on the back. You got some solid hits, but I think it was able to deflect a lot of that energy . And despite flopping around like that, it regained control quickly!
that what my brain was thinking too, hard to make a lot of contact onto a surface that can just wobble and bounce away before cheesecake can grab onto them.
Yeah - additionally its weight is distributed with so much distance between the two outer parts that there's much less inertness to the "mass" cheesecake could hit. So less energy transfer from weapon hits thanks to high flexibility AND less inertia/mass. (not sure I'm using the physics terms right but I'm sure you get what I mean)
The Judge's decision with Freethrow is such a letdown. I'll agree with 4 out of 5 for damage due to no major disabling action, but at the same time how are they going to give him 1 for causing no damage? You also got robbed by only getting a 1 in aggression. At no point were you actively avoiding the clash so how they could come to such a boneheaded conclusion is beyond me. That and if they're going to give Freethrow a pity point in damage you should have gotten the same in control. Fight should have definitely been scored Cheesecake 4/2/0 to Freethrow 0/2/3 in favor of Cheesecake. Sorry you got robbed but I'm glad you can take the L as well as you show us in the edit.
Before this video came out I was checking the channel for new videos over and over, and eventually spoiled the video by looking up the tournament and seeing what place everyone got.
Congrats on the sponsorship! Free Throw is a tough bot, very similar to Coleman's NHRL champion 12lb Full Court which is almost the same but way bigger except its a few inches shy of 6ft long, and has two little self righting arms which at the time qualified as an active weapon (2024 NHRL rules did ban this approach however). And of course who can forget the original SMEEEEEEEEEEEE in the 3lb class which was very successful in its day.
I don't think that would work sadly. I get the idea, but angled down would just make it so that the angle between the blade and the wedge gets even worse. Angled up would do it, but then you can't slip it under the other robot.
Yeah. They aren't even good design challenges. They plague NHRL too where people just put a single servo somewhere and then just drive around a giant tpu wedge with no combat capabilities.
Some improvements I’ve thought of is a wide sweet tooth for bots with forks and also changing your side armor to tpu and maybe getting a bigger battery
Hey Alex, I want to build an ant weight robot, first of all I'm 11 years old and my name is not Kellie I'm using my mom's computer. I just want to make a good beginner wedge robot. I dream of making 2 wedges that flow the half pound rule but for now im going just build a beggenr wedge bot. I would like some tips on what parts i should buy, how i should build it but finally keep it somewhat cheap. Thank you
I started out by using the same electronics and motors as the Fingertech Viper kit, so that's definitely a good place for you to start too. I suggest you get the parts you know you'll need (drive motors, battery, power switch, wheels) and then designing your robot around those parts. It's a lot easier to get started once you have something physical to mentally ground yourself. Otherwise it's hard to know where to start and how big to make the robot. There's also a UA-cam video series by team Witch Doctor which explains how to get started. It helped me a lot. ua-cam.com/play/PL81yBUG7TPX3rRRStHBGLX0Rr2aaBqfFO.html&si=QRweSU0Kb9EAQAM_
Yeah, the problem is also that Cheesecake doesn't always stay pointed straight (he jiggles around quite a bit) so it's hard to find a good steering curve on my transmitter that always feels good.
Timothy's Tips: -Give Cheesecake better traction on steel, such as probably a magnet to keep on the ground. -Unlike SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, Free Throw has a sturdy frame that doesn't bend, proving the point that minivits are better than SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE is true. -Use the sweet tooth against low-ground bots like Free Throw to keep on the ground and gain traction.
I think the sweet tooth might have helped against free throw to rip out his forks, having bad traction was the biggest problem for sure, Cheesecake lives off strong mobility.
wow I love how people just bring snowplow bots with no active weapon and just turn to face the other bot without ever moving towards them! So fun! Free throw winning is actually so stupid.
I've heard of using applying double-sided tape to wheels to improve traction on smooth surfaces. I think that was generally for line-following robots or sumo bots, but it might work for an ant weight on a steel floor. I've heard of using silicone, too. Cheesecake running out of power is really unfortunate. I know Cheesecake has very tight packaging and runs really close to the weight limit, but just a little bit more battery capacity and he would have won those two fights. Short of increasing battery size by 5-10%... Cross-sectional area on the collet where it was pulling apart might be able to be increased. It failed by separating the layers which usually means the print orientation should be changed, but it doesn't look like that's practical. One possibility might be to print the weapon collet in nylon using powder bed fusion, which should result in a more isotropic material. And of course for the bearing... Loctite! The standard Loctite is #242 (blue), but if you're finding that is coming loose I'd suggest using #271. Just be aware that 271 is designed for semi-permanent bonds and to break the bond you'll have to heat it to 500 degrees Fahrenheit! A few seconds with a soldering iron should do the trick on a screw that size.
Another crazy idea: as the blade is slighty angled, you should get some gyro by spinning the robot. Is it possible to put it on its side voluntarily? So turning it into an unexpected vertical spinner. And to give it a little bit of movement, turn the side armor into bristles.
Could Cheesecake have enough speed to jump Free Throw going backwards so as to be ready to immediately charge into Free Throw's back? Not that doing that on an unfamiliar floor would have been easy.
I could imagine that it would be advantageous for you to try jumps (like in the fight against Free Throw) backwards. So that you don't have to turn Cheesecake, to aim your weapon at the opponent.
I am starting to be a fan. Love Cheesecake!! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I want to see more. Like your new battle bot for the beetle division. Maybe you will introduce us to it in this video. Cheers!
I think the metal floors in California are not optimal for 1lb bots. A 250lb bot would have no problem, but I think it would be helpful for ant weights to compete on wooden floors. Leave metal floors for much heavier bots.
funny battle bot idea: two small bots, one goes fast and has a lot of torque and has a big pike that can shoot out at high speeds, completely stabbing the crap outta the opposing robot, and getting itself stuck in the process, extremely slowing the opposing robot, the other acting as a vertical spinner spinning downward to chop at the unguarded parts of the now immobilised opposing robot.
It appears Cheesecake has a way to go if he's to make it in the big leagues; still, I think the metal arena was a large part of the reson you performed poorly; hitting your weapon against the thick steel cage repeatedly is going to cost a lot of power and the slippery ground gets in the way of your otherwise excellent mobility.
are studded or spiked wheels allowed? the problem with the low-friction floor seems to be 2-fold, not only do you go flying, you don't get to actually impart any energy into the thing you hit. I do have a very silly idea about an alternative way of generating grip via suction but it's almost certainly too fragile and not doable within your weight constraints
Perhaps you could detect big hits and reverse the weapon spin to immediately have it bounce back to a good (reverse) speed. That might reduce the power drain to spin the weapon back up and it may also help prevent the big spins throwing cheesecake all over the arena by channeling that momentum back into the weapon
I dont know how much spare weight you have in cheesecake, but what about a new set of wheels for steel floors with the magnets built into the wheels? Have a search for "wheel magnets wall robot/s" for some ideas!!!
cheesecake didn't fair the best, but it did pretty well considering these were some of the best in the nation. And you got a lot of really valuable data, especially about your weapon collet. it also seemed like a lot of fun too.
ohhh poor, poor cheesecake... still, having this be one of cheesecake's only bad showings is nothing to sneeze at! let's see if he can't beat the westcoast robros next time
Just adding some electrical tape to the wheels might be a cheap, temporary solution for more grip on the steel floor that doesn't add much weight and is easy to replace.
Hey, hold on, this took place like 10 minutes from my house. I'll have to check it out next year! Been really fun to watch the development of Cheesecake.
Hi Alex I have been loving watching cheescake and I am currently making my own bot and i have a question maybe you have mentioned it already and I'm deaf but how close is cheescake to the weight limit?
It depends which attachments I'm using. Without the Cake Slice or Sweet Tooth, Cheesecake currently weighs around 435 grams (the weight limit is 454 grams).
Awesome, I'm glad to have you here! Eh, MN is pretty far for a regular tournament, and I'm pretty busy working on my 3lb robot, but I'd love to hit up the Midwest again sometime!
damn a sponsor. congrats cool to to see that's channel getting some proper attention
Facts
Its a well deserved sponsorship!
Go Cheesecake!
New mood unlocked: Deatharang in a pyramid.
Have you thought driving in reverse over wedge robots? So you are immediately right way around to hit from behind.
That's a good idea! I didn't trust myself to drive backwards without fishtailing, but I should probably try to make that work for the reason you described, because that would be sick.
Wait whay is fishtailing? @@alexsalchemy
RED VS BLUE REFERENCE RAAAAAAAAAAA
I can't help but notice that your weapon is wasting a whole lot of energy on making a loud buzzing noise, i. e. moving air. Maybe a more aerodynamic blade could save that energy for the opponent's chassis?
Oh yeah, I have a prototype disk weapon which should churn up the air much less, but I'm not sure how strong it is, so I'm scared to use it, haha.
Comment 👍
The metal floors certainly did you no favours. Where you normally have very good driving, free throw had such good grip in comparison.
Magnetic feet?
Cheesecake's record (as of video)
Official fights:
41(37)-15(7)
Exhibition fights
2(1)-2(2)-1
Though Cheesecake's record may have broken the 40 win barrier and earned its first exhibition wins, it has come at a great cost. Quite an unfortunate showing, culture shock is nothing to mess with. Based on what we have seen there are a few issues that need to be addressed: grip, power, and new iterations of control bots. It will definitely be interesting to see how Alex addresses these. Hard luck this time around but goodluck to anyone who wants to take a bite of Cheesecake.
Aw man, it really pains me to see poor cheesecake get such a low score, good luck in your next tournament, though!
Alex, really appreciate your content and everything you are doing for the combat robot community! Super stoked to be the “Spiritual Brother” to cheesecake. Look forward to our next fight! Keep up the great work 👍
good work in the first fight!
literally a 1-1 copy of cheesecake but hey its not illegal i guess
Chesecake sure makes for interesting fights the way it throws itself around whenever its weapon hits the floor.
Have you considered adding magnets to the top and bottom plates for when you're going to be on steel floors? Could add some much needed traction
also adds weight if you want sufficiently strong magnets to give enough weight
@@fromfin90 well i mean small magnets dont really need to be that strong, only strong enough to allow cheese cake to grip the steel floor better
Magnets only pull hard when they're really close to the ferrous object. Even the small clearance cheesecake has, it isn't worth the weight
@@dirtdart81 idk if this actually exists but what about a strip of ‘magnetic foil’ or a really thin magnetic metal loop as the tread for the wheels
@@dirtdart81 That's fair. I was thinking how much magnets helped LowLowMan, but I forgot to consider the fact that LowLowMan is low. The only other option I see working then is fatter wheels, but Cheesecake doesn't have the space or the spare weight to take fatter wheels
I found myself rooting for Cheesecake like I do my local football team. Sad to see him only go 2:2 but what a ride. Makes for a good redemption arc for Cheesecake too as he heads back out West next year for revenge 😂
What really impresses me about Free Throw is its ability to just bend away when it takes a hit on the back. You got some solid hits, but I think it was able to deflect a lot of that energy . And despite flopping around like that, it regained control quickly!
that what my brain was thinking too, hard to make a lot of contact onto a surface that can just wobble and bounce away before cheesecake can grab onto them.
Yeah - additionally its weight is distributed with so much distance between the two outer parts that there's much less inertness to the "mass" cheesecake could hit.
So less energy transfer from weapon hits thanks to high flexibility AND less inertia/mass. (not sure I'm using the physics terms right but I'm sure you get what I mean)
The Judge's decision with Freethrow is such a letdown. I'll agree with 4 out of 5 for damage due to no major disabling action, but at the same time how are they going to give him 1 for causing no damage? You also got robbed by only getting a 1 in aggression. At no point were you actively avoiding the clash so how they could come to such a boneheaded conclusion is beyond me. That and if they're going to give Freethrow a pity point in damage you should have gotten the same in control. Fight should have definitely been scored Cheesecake 4/2/0 to Freethrow 0/2/3 in favor of Cheesecake. Sorry you got robbed but I'm glad you can take the L as well as you show us in the edit.
Before this video came out I was checking the channel for new videos over and over, and eventually spoiled the video by looking up the tournament and seeing what place everyone got.
Congrats on the sponsorship!
Free Throw is a tough bot, very similar to Coleman's NHRL champion 12lb Full Court which is almost the same but way bigger except its a few inches shy of 6ft long, and has two little self righting arms which at the time qualified as an active weapon (2024 NHRL rules did ban this approach however). And of course who can forget the original SMEEEEEEEEEEEE in the 3lb class which was very successful in its day.
Cheesecake is back!
For another slice! Badumpch
As the time I make this comment cheese cakes fight record is now 19 fights lost and 56 fights won
Could an angled cake slice maybe be used as another alternate addition for fights against super low profile bots like wedge #2?
I don't think that would work sadly. I get the idea, but angled down would just make it so that the angle between the blade and the wedge gets even worse. Angled up would do it, but then you can't slip it under the other robot.
Chese cake seems to have a lot of cousins
I love seeing cheesecakes journey even the lows
absolute banger
i wish those snow plow bots would be banned, nothing is more boring than those bots
Yeah. They aren't even good design challenges. They plague NHRL too where people just put a single servo somewhere and then just drive around a giant tpu wedge with no combat capabilities.
Some improvements I’ve thought of is a wide sweet tooth for bots with forks and also changing your side armor to tpu and maybe getting a bigger battery
Weight
aaaaah, icantstopwatching
16:57 um ackshually dulce de lucha was still in🤓
chanting " CHEESECAKE CHEESAKE" !!!!!
You are such a wonderful sport!!! I hope you have kids.
Hey Alex, I want to build an ant weight robot, first of all I'm 11 years old and my name is not Kellie I'm using my mom's computer. I just want to make a good beginner wedge robot. I dream of making 2 wedges that flow the half pound rule but for now im going just build a beggenr wedge bot. I would like some tips on what parts i should buy, how i should build it but finally keep it somewhat cheap. Thank you
I started out by using the same electronics and motors as the Fingertech Viper kit, so that's definitely a good place for you to start too. I suggest you get the parts you know you'll need (drive motors, battery, power switch, wheels) and then designing your robot around those parts. It's a lot easier to get started once you have something physical to mentally ground yourself. Otherwise it's hard to know where to start and how big to make the robot. There's also a UA-cam video series by team Witch Doctor which explains how to get started. It helped me a lot.
ua-cam.com/play/PL81yBUG7TPX3rRRStHBGLX0Rr2aaBqfFO.html&si=QRweSU0Kb9EAQAM_
@@alexsalchemy thanks
Is it just me or is the Pid Tune for the Yaw Axis a bit too sensitive.
Yeah, the problem is also that Cheesecake doesn't always stay pointed straight (he jiggles around quite a bit) so it's hard to find a good steering curve on my transmitter that always feels good.
Timothy's Tips:
-Give Cheesecake better traction on steel, such as probably a magnet to keep on the ground.
-Unlike SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, Free Throw has a sturdy frame that doesn't bend, proving the point that minivits are better than SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE is true.
-Use the sweet tooth against low-ground bots like Free Throw to keep on the ground and gain traction.
I think the sweet tooth might have helped against free throw to rip out his forks, having bad traction was the biggest problem for sure, Cheesecake lives off strong mobility.
wow I love how people just bring snowplow bots with no active weapon and just turn to face the other bot without ever moving towards them! So fun! Free throw winning is actually so stupid.
I've heard of using applying double-sided tape to wheels to improve traction on smooth surfaces. I think that was generally for line-following robots or sumo bots, but it might work for an ant weight on a steel floor. I've heard of using silicone, too.
Cheesecake running out of power is really unfortunate. I know Cheesecake has very tight packaging and runs really close to the weight limit, but just a little bit more battery capacity and he would have won those two fights. Short of increasing battery size by 5-10%... Cross-sectional area on the collet where it was pulling apart might be able to be increased. It failed by separating the layers which usually means the print orientation should be changed, but it doesn't look like that's practical. One possibility might be to print the weapon collet in nylon using powder bed fusion, which should result in a more isotropic material.
And of course for the bearing... Loctite! The standard Loctite is #242 (blue), but if you're finding that is coming loose I'd suggest using #271. Just be aware that 271 is designed for semi-permanent bonds and to break the bond you'll have to heat it to 500 degrees Fahrenheit! A few seconds with a soldering iron should do the trick on a screw that size.
Another crazy idea: as the blade is slighty angled, you should get some gyro by spinning the robot. Is it possible to put it on its side voluntarily? So turning it into an unexpected vertical spinner.
And to give it a little bit of movement, turn the side armor into bristles.
"i'll try spinning that's a good trick" got me laughing way harder than it should have.
was fun seeing your fights! Hope you eventually switch to a hub-system like Andrew's Malice, I guarantee you'll find a noticeable jump in reliability.
Could Cheesecake have enough speed to jump Free Throw going backwards so as to be ready to immediately charge into Free Throw's back? Not that doing that on an unfamiliar floor would have been easy.
I could imagine that it would be advantageous for you to try jumps (like in the fight against Free Throw) backwards. So that you don't have to turn Cheesecake, to aim your weapon at the opponent.
I am starting to be a fan. Love Cheesecake!! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I want to see more. Like your new battle bot for the beetle division. Maybe you will introduce us to it in this video. Cheers!
Never forget that failure is the best teacher. When we stop failing, we stop learning.
You mentioned Mudskipper didn't show up, I can't think of any MRCA ants that went to RCL. I know a few qualified too.
I think the metal floors in California are not optimal for 1lb bots. A 250lb bot would have no problem, but I think it would be helpful for ant weights to compete on wooden floors. Leave metal floors for much heavier bots.
funny battle bot idea: two small bots, one goes fast and has a lot of torque and has a big pike that can shoot out at high speeds, completely stabbing the crap outta the opposing robot, and getting itself stuck in the process, extremely slowing the opposing robot, the other acting as a vertical spinner spinning downward to chop at the unguarded parts of the now immobilised opposing robot.
Fantastic tourney. I'm really enjoying the ant weight combat. Thanks.
8:50 THE CHONKERSSSS!!!
It appears Cheesecake has a way to go if he's to make it in the big leagues; still, I think the metal arena was a large part of the reson you performed poorly; hitting your weapon against the thick steel cage repeatedly is going to cost a lot of power and the slippery ground gets in the way of your otherwise excellent mobility.
are studded or spiked wheels allowed? the problem with the low-friction floor seems to be 2-fold, not only do you go flying, you don't get to actually impart any energy into the thing you hit.
I do have a very silly idea about an alternative way of generating grip via suction but it's almost certainly too fragile and not doable within your weight constraints
Next time you fight in a metal arena, use magnets to hold you down and for some more traction
Ever consider adding a gyro? Some rx comes with one built-in. It might help give more control on the slippery surface.
Any wedge robot shouldnt be allowed on any tournament, its lazy, uninspiring, lack inovation and so boring to watch.
definitely think you want to be reversing over bots like free throw, means you can engage them with you weapon much quicker once behind
Perhaps you could detect big hits and reverse the weapon spin to immediately have it bounce back to a good (reverse) speed.
That might reduce the power drain to spin the weapon back up
and it may also help prevent the big spins throwing cheesecake all over the arena by channeling that momentum back into the weapon
I dont know how much spare weight you have in cheesecake, but what about a new set of wheels for steel floors with the magnets built into the wheels?
Have a search for "wheel magnets wall robot/s" for some ideas!!!
i love cheesecake
cheesecake didn't fair the best, but it did pretty well considering these were some of the best in the nation. And you got a lot of really valuable data, especially about your weapon collet. it also seemed like a lot of fun too.
Do you think you'd run magnets if you fight out west again? I've seen them get real popular out west.
23:43 You turned into a vertical spinner by spinning horizontally your horizontal weapon bearing bot ahah
for the fight cheesecake vs vector, who was flippin playing pinball from a arcade place
Maybe a small groove in the wheels so you could add a rubberband or something to gain some grip.. :)
ohhh poor, poor cheesecake... still, having this be one of cheesecake's only bad showings is nothing to sneeze at! let's see if he can't beat the westcoast robros next time
If the floor was slippery enough for your wheels to free spin, that could also be draining your battery power
Put the curve in Cheesecake's rear armor the other direction and flare it down i to a wedge. That will give you another option for attack.
Just adding some electrical tape to the wheels might be a cheap, temporary solution for more grip on the steel floor that doesn't add much weight and is easy to replace.
I wonder if there is something you could do with stickier tire material or some way to reduce cheesecakes spinning after every big hit.
When you can't see the hit but Cheesecake is sent spinning to the far side of the arena, you know Cheesecake got a bite.
I love that Cheesecake inspired a fleet of similar food-themed horizontal spinners
Just gotta work on some grippy shoes for cheese cake to fight on metal and she'll be right.
Grip seems to be the biggest problem. Foam/rubber wheels would probably help a lot.
Would you consider adding a fan to make a vacuum under the bot to keep it stuck to the floor a little better?
Even though you didn't win this is still pretty cool! Thanks for sharing!
There doesn't seem to be any robot fighting groups out here in Phoenix, otherwise I think I'd get into this hobby
No-wheel robots can be twice the weight no? Boomerang didn’t look that heavy
The RCL was definitely a brutal tournament but it was still a fun time. Great seeing you again! Will you be going to the Sussex County GSCRL event?
Hey, hold on, this took place like 10 minutes from my house.
I'll have to check it out next year! Been really fun to watch the development of Cheesecake.
At the start it felt like rewatching Cars 3 where the lighting McQueen started losing to the new racers
maaaaan, i wanted cheesecake to go up and beyond. he's the best little boy.
CHEESCAKE!
Cheese cake and cheese block but what about cheddar goblin
So it turns out you're responsible for the microplastics crisis, huh?
deatharang is absolutely the coolest bot iv seen even if its not super effective
I thought you had cleet wheels to combat the lack of traction of the floor?
they should try to put some texture on these metal floors it seems so slick
5:40
This is like some sports anime tier strategy if we're treating Tiramisu as the protagonist lol
23:42 never thought I would see a top attack horizontal
I kind of want to see a rematch against mudksipper
A more suitable wheel for the slippery metal arena may be in order.
Did anybody notice the cake slice in the first match?
The steel floor seems pretty nasty for cheesecake with how much force it throws into those walls.
wedge 2 and iron wedge have double boss fight energy
What damage did free throw ever even do
What about reversing over wedges etc?
Really enjoying cheesecakes journey!
👍
Maybe tracks for slippery steel
floors
I am the 1.000nd like on this Video
We need a dark green wedge bot named Claymore with 'FRONT TOWARD ENEMY' written on it.
That's a wedgebot I could love.
Control bots arent fighting bots.
Hi Alex I have been loving watching cheescake and I am currently making my own bot and i have a question maybe you have mentioned it already and I'm deaf but how close is cheescake to the weight limit?
It depends which attachments I'm using. Without the Cake Slice or Sweet Tooth, Cheesecake currently weighs around 435 grams (the weight limit is 454 grams).
Just found your content! Very well put together and extremely entertaining to watch. Any chance you'll be hitting up the MN match?
Awesome, I'm glad to have you here! Eh, MN is pretty far for a regular tournament, and I'm pretty busy working on my 3lb robot, but I'd love to hit up the Midwest again sometime!