August 2004  Rebuild for RCRA II Xhilarating impaX had suffered quite a lot of damage at RCRA . The corners of the chassis had been torn up by Totally Offensive and ShreadHead. We decided to increase the armour to 3.5mm Thick hardened S7. To lose some weight to allow this  we bought an RS80D to replace the Vantec 36E and replaced the front Al. armour rather than just adding the S7. The Holes in the original front plate were replicated in the S7 using a Jigsaw, Drill and a lot of filing. You don't need watercutting to build a bot buts its  a lot easier! The front plate will wrap around the front corners. All the mounting holes were countersunk so that the screw heads will be somewhat protected. The bottom corners of the plate were cropped so that when the [plate is folded they will clear the ground. Mounting holes were added at each end to attach the  armour at the sides. Two smaller plates will wrap around the rear corners. I've had the corners folded by a Friend (He got the bend a little off so I'll need small spacers at the sides) and the plates will go for hardening tomorrow at a place in Raleigh. I  plan to have them anneal the plates first to relieve and stresses built up in the folding and then harden to appox. RC50. A quick trip to the loacl Post Office showed that we still have 1lb 5oz left for all the fasteners required. Should be OK. August 31, 2004 Fitting the new armour required the lugs on the side armour to be cut off along the lines shown. Hardening the S7 (It was not annealed as the they said that would not be required) turned it a blackish colour. The side and rear panels were drilled and tapped for  M6  Screws and the new front and rear corner armour was secured solidly in place. The S7 cost about $100 with some left over and the hardening another $83 (that would have allowed me to do 60lbs when I only had 3lbs to harden!). It looks and seems really tough  and hard but the real proof will come when it meets a good spinner at RCRAII this weekend. Just got the ESC to be fitted and it ready to go. September 2, 2004 I modified the case of the RS80D by adding a small high performance 40mm fan to the side and added some double sided tape to the bottom (to catch any metallic debris  that might get in). The original fans intake filter assembly was modified so it fitted together without the fan and was then secured into the case using some shorter M4 Screws and  nuts. The unit now fits in the Chassis neatly and still allows a good flow of air through it. Two patterns of air holes was drilled into the top cover to let air flow in and out of the ESC. The Bot is now ready for going to RCRA II.