Somebody at this shop decided we needed an arena, so we built one. The Chamber of Robotic Aggression is a member-built battle box: a welded steel frame, a plywood floor, polycarbonate walls, expanded metal over the top, and hazard striping along the bottom rail so nobody forgets what it is for.

Here is fourteen seconds of what happens once two bots are in there together.

Two small combat robots in the Chamber of Robotic Aggression at a recent Open Hack Night.

It uses most of the shop

A combat robot is a good excuse to touch nearly every corner of the building, which is part of why we like them:

The chassis and armor get cut, welded, and machined in the metal shop, on the Bridgeport and the Clausing when a part has to be right.
Wedges, wheel hubs, and mounts come off the 3D printers.
Drive electronics, radio gear, and battery wiring happen at the electronics bench.
The arena itself came out of the woodshop and the welding bay.

Want to build one?

Start small. An antweight class bot is cheap, fits on a bench, and teaches you the same lessons a heavier one would, just without the shrapnel. Come to Open Hack Night on a Thursday and say you want to build a battlebot; there are several members who will immediately have opinions about drive trains.

Build notes and arena details go on the member wiki, and match nights get announced on Discord and the events calendar.