I'll be working on some improvements to this ship in the next few weeks. The main things I'm planning on are some gun tech improvements and a driveline upgrade. Today I built a better mount for the bow guns. I never really liked the ways I had mounted them in the past. I like this, but I still think I can do better. The turret and the AL angle part keep the barrels aligned and secured. If I want the barrels to tilt in I can print another turret with the openings wider apart. Hopefully I'll have more stuff to post soon.
Tested the new guns in the boat today. I could say what I feel about them, but I made a video instead. View: https://youtu.be/pQfnlN9l6z0 Pics of the new drive setup coming soon.
The ROF wasn't as good as it could have been. The firing switches in my radio are of poor quality and I get inconsistent shot patterns. I plan to put better switches in, so that should fix that.
Got to do a switch conversion on my 9c heli radio that is now my ship radio. Throttle/rudder gimble is busted so it's a perfect candidate.
I like to use snap action switches in my radios. I find I can shoot faster with them versus push button switches.
Since I had my first successful test of my new belt drive I think it's time I post a pic. It's pretty quiet and hopefully will be trouble free.
Your build inspired me to convert mine. Except for some trouble trying to get metric pulleys to run center on 3/16" shafts I'm really liking it. It's going to be battle tested next weekend. Hopefully it holds together.
Awesome! I'm excited to hear about how it does in battle and holds together. I need to make some more progress on my build but I'm in the middle of a bunch of other design work and only so many hours in the day. Good luck next weekend!
couldn't find time to resheet this winter? (technically, by the rules, all old damage must be painted over before starting a new event) See you tomorrow!
Well, the belt drive setup fared pretty well last Saturday. No issues really other than a motor pulley came off the shaft during a sortie. I think that was more of an issue with the setscrew fastener though, not the setup itself. All in all, I like the belt drive. It's quiet when set up right and seems durable. I'll be making some improvements in the next few weeks and then see how it fares at Carl's in May. On another note, I've been fixing some things that have bugged me since I finished the boat last year. I've never really liked how the bow solenoids were situated in the bow. Before I added an accumulator tank they were just thrown in the front of the boat and pushed out of the way when it came time to put the deck on. Not to my liking. I then put in an accumulator and that was better, but the way I had it situated, lying horizontal, took up a lot of space and interfered with the guns when I tried to put the deck on. I've now flipped the accumulator vertical and moved the inport to the bottom and this allows it to sit about an inch further up the bow. I soldered a brass mounting tab to it as well so now it is bolted to the hull and won't move or fall out of the boat. Much better!
Awesome, I'm glad to hear that the belt drive held up for you in actual combat! Hopefully that continues to be the case as you get some more use and age on it.
One thing I'd advise when setting up a belt drive is try to use a motor with a shaft that extends though the pulley. My motor shafts only go about halfway into the pulleys and there is a much higher chance of the pulleys being pulled off the shaft by belt tension or vibrations.
