Author: Kaldonis

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Robot combat event May 18-19!

kilobots

Do you remember the television shows Robot Wars and BattleBots from about a decade ago? Ever wanted to see that kind of robot mayhem in person? Well now’s your chance! On May 18th & 19th at The Centre Mall, the Saskatoon Combat Robotics Club (aka Kilobots) is hosting its 25th event.

I know what you’re thinking – how is it that something this awesome has been going on for so many years and I haven’t heard about it? Well, once you’re done beating yourself up over it, clear your schedule for May long weekend. The combat arena will be set up in front of North Shore Outfitters and fights will be taking place every hour on the hour. And, if you’re so inclined, it’s not too late to start building your own bot to enter in the event! Head on over to the Kilobots site for more details.

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Project Showcase: Laser Cutter Water Cooling System

Last year, one of our members purchased a laser cutter of questionable quality off of eBay. We’ve been pleasantly surprised by what the machine is able to do, and over the last year we’ve been constantly improving the machine. Our latest improvement is that of a proper water cooling system for the laser to replace the “snow cooled” system we’d been using all winter.

water2

For more details on this project, head over to our forum.

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Project Showcase: Buzzer Relay

Over the weekend, a couple of our members put together this Raspberry Pi powered relay whose purpose will be to trigger a buzzer in a shop with highly regimented work times. The Pi will keep time using NTP to stay in sync with the shop’s timeclock.

buzzer relay

For more details on this project, head to our forum.

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Yet another thing TechWorks is good for…

This week, one of our members is using the shop to install a new engine in his daughter’s junior dragster. Very cool! Some interesting facts:

  • Chassis: 2009 Martin Components Jr. Dragster
  • Engine (2012): Briggs Raptor 3 (13 cu in) with 28mm Mikuni Carb
  • Best time (2012): 12.002s @ 52mph (1/8th mile)
  • New Engine: Blockzilla 3×3 (21 cu in) with 40mm Mikuni Carb
  • Expected time: 9s @ 70mph
  • Fuel: Methanol
  • Driver: Rachel (age 11)

 

Junior Dragster

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2013 AGM Report

Just a quick overview of last night’s AGM…

Elected a new board, it consists of:

  • James Cooper
  • Rylan Grayston
  • Albert La
  • Jeremy Rans
  • Ryan Silk
  • Kurtis Wanner

Actual board member titles are TBD (these are decided amongst the board members) but should be announced shortly.

Another noteworthy tidbit is that a bylaw change was passed to lower the number of people required for quorum. This was previously “the lesser of 12 people or 50% membership” and is now “the lesser of 10 people or 50% membership.”

Finally, we discussed a variety of workshops that we’re going to be looking to hold in the near future. These include CAD/CAM (SolidWorks/Aspire), PCB manufacturing, casting & molding & arduino. Stay tuned for specific dates.

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2013 Annual General Meeting

Just another reminder, this year’s AGM is at 7PM on Tuesday March 12th at 422 44th St E. All members are encouraged to attend and the public is welcome to attend as well. Hope to see everyone there!