W
ant to build your own battle robot? Today’s
the day. Kerfuffle is a mini bot designed
to inflict mechanical damage to other
machines in caged combat. If you’ve ever seen
the show BattleBots then you already have a
very solid idea of how these robots operate.
Kerfuffle is a 1lb robot in the plastic antweight
class, meaning it’s not made with any of the
high-grade metals or plastics, such as steel
or nylon, that you may see being used on the
heavyweight robots on TV. Kerfuffle is designed
as an entry-level robot using inexpensive,
3D-printable materials that allow for many
more people to take their first steps into the
world of combat robots. For weaponry it relies
on a wedge shape to get under opponents and
a lifter arm to flip them over, meaning it’s safe
for beginners to practice — and even fight other
Kerfuffles — without need of a protective arena.
I designed the machine originally to fight in
my school’s competition and it proved to be very
effective. Since the first version in 2019, Kerfuffle
has been tuned to become more competitive,
leading to the successful Version 2 that you’ll
build in this guide.
PRINTING THE PARTS
The first and most critical tool you’ll need for
this build is a 3D printer. The Ender 3 from
Creality is one of the most popular and least
expensive printers on the market with a price
tag around $200. Other quality printers like the
Prusa i3 MK3S are also great options, especially
for higher quality materials like nylon, but
they cost closer to $1,000. For our Kerfuffle,
an Ender 3 is more than sufficient since we
will be using PLA or PLA+ filament which are
BRANDON BENNETT YOUNG
has been building and fighting
combat robots for the past decade
in weight classes ranging from
150g to 250lbs, most famously Big
Dill and Mammoth from the TV
show BattleBots.
Version 1 of Kerfuffle, 2019.
TIME REQUIRED:
3-4 Hours + 1–2 Days Print Time
DIFFICULTY:
Easy–Intermediate
COST:
$300–$400
MATERIALS:
Most of Kerfuffle’s parts come from FingerTech
Robotics (fingertechrobotics.com) which
provides all the components you need to make 1lb
and 3lb combat robots:
» Gearmotors, Silver Spark 16mm, 22.2:1 gear
ratio (2)
» Electronic speed controllers, tinyESC (2)
» LiPo battery pack, Galaxy 3S (11.1V) 300mAh
» Voltage regulator, 9V 4.5A
» Foam wheels, 2.00"×0.75"
» Lite Hubs (1 pair)
» R/C transmitter, T6A
» R/C receiver, TR6A
» Mini power switch
» JST connectors, 2-pin (1 pair)
» Servomotor, ANNIMOS 20kg metal gear
Amazon #B076CNKQX4. If you substitute the
HXT 12kg from FingerTech — it has less power
but still plenty for 1lb robots — you’ll also need
to buy the FingerTech metal servo arm.
» Plastite screws: #4×⁄" long (5) and #6×½"
long (4) from a local hardware store
» Machine screws, M3×15mm long (2)
» Heat-shrink tubing from hardware store or
Amazon
» 3D-printed robot parts: chassis, lifting arm,
top plate, and wheel hubs Download the free
3D files from grabcad.com/library/kerfuffle-1lb-
plastic-ant-combat-robot-1.
TOOLS:
» 3D printer with PLA+ or PLA filament
» Phillips head screwdriver
» Soldering iron and lead-free solder
» Hot glue gun
» Heat gun
» Hex wrench, 3/32" to operate the mini power
switch
» Hex wrench, 0.050" to tighten Lite Hubs
setscrews
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