E-mail us here

Hypno-Disco is, as you have  probably guessed, a model of Hypno-disc. The only reason I have called this  model Hypno-Disco is to make it easier to tell which is which. This model is a  display and demo robot, but could be used in fights against robots of it's type.  This robot is effectively Hypno-Disco 2, as the first was far too small to fit  the parts in for radio control. (The picture to the right shows both,  Hypno-disco 1 is on the left, the new version is on the right).

Hypno-disco is made from polystyrene sheet (my favioute material).  The old version had a 4mm thick chassis, but the new version is different. The  plan was for 4mm thick chassis, but I noticed that the batteries wouldn't fit  in. So the change was to the front. The rear half still has 4mm thick  polystyrene, but the front is only 2mm thick. The batteries now fit, but the  front is slightly less strong, but is still good enough. Another problem came  with the normally good Expo Drills and Tools, who didn't send the glue. So I had  to use epoxy, which doesn't stick polystyrene too well, and takes 24 hours to  set. Also, they didn't have any 1mm thick polystryene at the time, so the top  sections were delayed.

While waiting for the parts to turn up, I cut the disc. This is a  baseplate of 2mm polystyrene sheet with a 50mm hole in the centre (for the disc  spindle) and 8 ribs of 2mm polystyrene. This makes a strong disc. The spindle in the middle is acrylic tube.  This spins on a slightly smaller spindle which houses the motor. The disc is  covered with 0.25mm thick polystyrene, which is moulded to the shape of the disc  with a hairdryer. I first cut the baseplate and the hole for the tube in the  middle, but at the time I didn't have the tube, and so couldn't fit it. This  also meant that I could only fit the ribs, and that the skin of the disc had to  wait until the tube was fitted.

While I was waiting for that, I fitted the rear drive system. The  motors and gearboxes are the same as the ones used in Backslash (I fact, at the  moment, they are the ones used in Backslash) and are mounted to the rear wheels.  Pullys and belts transfer the power to the front wheels, making this a four  wheel drive robot. The wheels are 30mm rubber airwheels at the rear, which are  foam filled, and foam wheels at the front. The foam wheels are not covered in  rubber, and could wear down quite quickly. I need to get some replacement rubber  ones.

The 1mm polystyrene for the top armour then turned up, and I could  start. The result is shown. On Hypno-disco 1, only the top panel was removeable,  but on the new version, the entire lot lifts off, with a small hole in the top  to allow quick access to the switches. The reason is simple. It allows better  access to the insides of the robot for repair and maintanence.

At this stage, I also fitted the elctronics for first testing. The  motors, gearboxes and batteries from Backslash were fitted, and the robot ran  well. It wouldn't turn, because the front wheels have too much grip. This will  be fixed when the belts and pullys that drive the front wheels are fitted.

This Version of Hypno-Disco has been abandened. I am planning on building a brand new, slightly larger version, using MDF and new geared motors. This one will be a lot stronger.