Behind the scenes at Magnet Expert Ltd, we’re always working on exciting projects that we can soon reveal to our customers. Today, we have a real humdinger! In recent months, we’ve been collaborating with Robot Wars’ very own competitor, Magnetar!
Now, the clue is in the name, Magnet-ar and you guessed it, the robot uses magnets during battle. Following discussions with the owner and controller of Magnetar, Ellis Ware, we’re pleased to announce that we have joined a strong list of sponsors and we will be assisting Magnetar with its magnetic requirements moving forward. Ellis spoke of the partnership between Magnetar and First4Magnets:
“Robot Wars turnarounds are always incredibly tight, and the Magnetar build was no exception. I had just a few weeks to get combat-ready after being accepted for series 10 by the BBC. I had to source some super high strength magnets, fast, and I found my Google results were dominated by Magnet Expert. I contacted them about collaborating, and they were clearly excited by the idea of contributing to a Robot Wars build, so they very quickly helped me select and source the monster magnets I needed for Magnetar. They have been a joy to work with, and I see no reason to go anywhere else for my future magnetic needs!”
So, how does Magnetar use magnets?
“The Robot Wars arena floor is steel. The idea is to use powerful magnets under the robot to “suck” the robot’s wheels onto the ground, which both increases traction, improving agility, but also helps keep the wheels on the ground in the first place. With this, I can speed around the arena with the weapon at full power and not worry about the gyro effects of the weapon, giving me a distinct advantage and a better chance of delivering a killer blow!”
The magnets seen here are the F505010NS-R, otherwise known as the 50 x 50 x 10mm thick by 8.5mm Countersunk N42 Neodymium Magnet with a 50kg pull. This is an extremely powerful magnet and Magnetar has 4 attached to its base; that’s 200kg of pull force applied to the bottom of the robot. You would, however, need to consider the air gap and various other conditions, but you would still expect to see an improvement in handling. See how strong the magnets are when the team try to apply an allen key to the fixing:
Check out a quick video of the team testing Magnetar with the magnets applied. It glides across the arena…
Credits for 2 videos and imagery : ELLIS – RANGLEBOX
Simon Elliott, of Magnet Expert, spoke of the partnership:
“It’s exciting to see our magnets being used on this type of application. The BBC’s Robot Wars is a big platform and we hope our magnets can help contribute to Ellis’ and Magnetar’s possible success in season 10. Ellis and his family have been a pleasure to deal with and we are looking forward to supporting them further in the future.”
How can you get behind Magnetar?
Get involved and support Ellis and the team by tuning into BBC Two on Sunday 26th at 8pm. You’ll see him compete in fast paced and explosive battles and hopefully, he will come out on top and be crowned champion! In the meantime, follow Magnetar on Facebook.
Video Credit: BBC ROBOT WARS
Thanks for reading! If you have something you think we should hear about, please contact our Marketing department on marketing@magnetexpert.com or call 0845 519 4701. In the meantime, drop us a tweet…
The images and videos within this blog post, that are credited to the BBC and Ellis are not owned by Magnet Expert and are used for illustration purposes only.