The Midnight Express is a defensive design, which was made to be spinner proof and wedge proof. In combat, it faired well, but is a bit too slow. It is powered by 2 power window motors from a 1985 Chrysler, driving 9" pneumatic wheels. The electronics consist of servo/microswitch combos controlling 12v relays. The robot runs off a NiCd battery pack.
Visible in the pictures is the "external frame" construction method I used, consisting of 1" square steel tube and 3/4" round tube. In addition to making for a sturdy robot, the frame is what takes the punishment instead of the armour. All internal components are mounted onto a base plate that is attached to the frame.
The Midnight Express did very well, with 5 wins and 2 losses
W: Sloth
W: Intrusive Interloper
W: Janet Reno Dance Party
W: Tripolar
W: Mr. Freeze
L: Grue
L: Dark Thunder
Here's some other pictures: (You can see battle damage that the robot suffered in the last two pictures - bent spikes)
. . .
.
For 2006 I ditched the power window motors after having several failures with them at Motorama 2004 (hub and gear related), and went for a set of Power Wheels motors instead. Running at 12v, they provided more speed, reliability and much more pushing power. I also got rid of the heavy, yet vulnerable, pneumatic wheels in favour of some extremely soft urethane wheels which were an awesome green colour.
Although I loved the spike perimeter of the previous Midnight Express, I decided that a "La Machine" shaped wedge would be more effective. I hinged the wedge to the front in order to guard against lifters/flippers. There are many upgrades in the 2006 design, however its shear size is still its downfall. Large size combined with slow speed makes for cumbersome maneuverability in the arena.
In battle, the Midnight Express faired well against a spinner, which is what it has always been designed to handle, lost against another pusher-type robot, and once again got propped up against an arena wall by the same flipper.
W: Sloth
L: Shiny Metal Box 3000
L: Dark Thunder
