Tank Expo 2009 was a huge success, with 16+ people attending in person
(couple kids and spouses) and 5 people attending online, from as far
away as South Korea. We met a couple new members from Virginia and got
to meet with some veteran members that we haven't seen in a while. We
had video coverage (albeit somewhat delayed and choppy for some
viewers), as well as an international conference call and chat session.
After the lavish Donut Opening Ceremony (which gets more and more
elaborate every year), Expo participants discussed a wide range of
topics and technologies.
The remainder of this article focuses on the technologies discussed.
Another thread will focus on rule discussions.
Dr. Sommer from Anvilus Plastic Works showed everyone a 1:6 scale
roto-molded Panther hull that was quite impressive. Made out of ABS
plastic, it was clearly strong enough for battling and had plenty of
nice detail molded into the hull. With just a little work, such hulls
could easily be fitted to a rolling chassis and used in battle. Ask Joe
about the details, cost and where to get them if you're interested.
Dr. Sommer also showed how a certain type of high-density plastic could
be cut and milled like nylon or delrin, but could also be molded into
any shape desired. Simply by heating the plastic in water for a couple
minutes (not even boiling temperatire), it turned into a sturdy putty
that could be easily hand molded for a couple of minutes. Then, it
turns solid again (slowly changing from clear to white), at which point
it feels like a solid plastic again. Quite interesting material (not
cheap of course), but something to consider for those usual parts and
design problems.
Joe also showed off one of the most powerful Kiddie Car Motors (KCMs)
that anyone has seen. It's an Italian-made assembly that marries a
heavy-duty Unite Motor (like the MO1) with a very beefy plastic gearbox.
The gearbox is just like other KCMs, only much, much stronger in both
design and power output. The combined unit runs at 175 RPM at the drive
shaft, which is too slow for tank tracks, but perfect for any wheeled
vehicle. No doubt about it, if you want a powerful wheeled vehicle,
these KCMs are the way to go.
Andy Schwartz brought by a prototype and plans for his latest robot
project, an almost full scale version of Wall E, one of the new movie
robots. Wall E has a track drive system and lots of movable parts, so
Andy has plenty of work for himself in the coming months. Certainly,
Andy will be transplanting lots of tank technology into the robot world.
Will Montgomery unveiled his new "Monster Jeep" support vehicle, which
marries a monster truck chassis with a plastic 1:6 scale Jeep body.
Stretching the rules in a number of directions, the Jeep will be watched
carefully in the next battle. Will took the Jeep onto the Tri-Pact
High-Speed Driving Test Track to show everyone what it could do.
Zipping along at up to 30 MPH, it behaved as expected, until Will
stomped on the brake ... at which point it flipped over and broke off a
few plastic parts. Ok, just a few quirks to iron out before the battle.
Doug "Rocket Man" Conn, brought the latest super-computer he plans to
install in his next vehicle. Based on a "pico-ITX" motherboard, the
entire computer was about the size of a small network hub/switch,
operating from a 12V input source. It provides built-in ethernet, VGA
and 4 USB ports, as well as audio in/out. It even has a 40Gb disk drive
inside, although Doug was talking about replacing that with a
solid-state drive for more robustness. Definitely much smaller than his
last control computer, but no less powerful. The only question everyone
had was "How will he fit the 20" monitor into the tank"?
Frank showed off a couple new electronic prototypes from the Cheap
Control Systems lab being developed for other organizations. The
C6C-Serial version allows the gamepad and servos to be separated by up
to 4,000 ft using a 3-wire tether. Not especially useful in our hobby,
but it might be used to control ROVs used in the North Sea for
maintaining oil rigs. The C6C-Animator version eliminates the gamepad
completely and is used to animate up to 4 servos using random sequences
and variable sweep angles. The C6C-Animator will be sold to scale
modelers who want their museum quality static models to have a little
life by moving the commander and driver torsos back and forth, up and
down, etc.
Still on the design board, Frank also introduced the concept of a new
cheap product called "Cheap Trash Talker" ... an inexpensive LCD display
that can be easily programmed to display any message you want to show on
the battlefield. The CTT could be mounted to any vehicle and used to
taunt the enemy into submission. Cheap Control Systems expects that a
large 3rd party market of taunt content will be available for download
over time and is currently negotiating with Apple for the rights to
manage taunt content.
Hopefully I haven't left out any of the technology displayed and
discussed. If so, I'm sure the other participants will chime in.
Frank "Your Mother Wears Army Boots" Pittelli
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