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LOGINStarting April 18, quoting and ordering will begin moving from Big Blue Saw to the Xometry website. You'll continue to be able to get fast service and instant quotes, in addition addition to a whole host of new materials and manufacturing processes!
Starting April 18, quoting and ordering will begin moving from Big Blue Saw to the Xometry website. You'll continue to be able to get fast service and instant quotes, in addition addition to a whole host of new materials and manufacturing processes!
Here's Big Ripto, Kyle Singer's 30 pound combat robot. Big Blue Saw helped supply the business end of this machine: the cutting disc low-taper waterjet cut from ⅞ inch thick S7 tool steel.
Since S7 is not a material we typically offer, Kyle sent us a piece to work from.
He designed the entire robot using Alibre Design CAD software.
Have a look at Big Ripto's big disc doing its thing against Duck Yeah! at Motorama Robot Conflict in 2017. Incidentally, Duck Yeah! also was built with parts custom made by Big Blue Saw.
A closeup of the disc and some of the damage it did: 
Can we cut metals for you like S7 that are not on our list of standard materials? Usually, yes! Just contact us to get the process started.
Luke Faulkingham wrote in to tell us about his fighting robot Shake 3. It's made with custom aluminum parts in 2 thicknesses, waterjet cut by Big Blue Saw! Here's what Luke has to say about the robot's design and manufacture:
The design is inspired by bots such as Sewer Snake and Tormenta 3 armed with a lifter that also operates as a front hinged flipper when run in reverse. The bot is made out of 6061 Aluminum, mostly 1/4” thick with some 1/2” parts in the weapon system for added strength, and uses NutStrip to hold the pieces together with tabs and slots for added strength. The bot also runs on two brushless motors for drive, allowing a high top speed and lots of pushing power. From the beginning the bot was designed with the intent of using waterjet cut pieces to make up the entire bot, using the precision and low tolerances to allow for added strength while also saving weight in the bot.
What season is December? For most, it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. But for a select few, it’s the start of Robot Building Season. As it becomes too cold to go outside, it’s best to stay indoors and work on your robot.
That’s why at Big Blue Saw December is Robot Building Season! We’ve got specials just for robot builders to make their lives easier so that they can get the custom parts they need: high performance materials and sales on our most popular stock metals!
Whether you’re beginner building a beetleweight pushybot or a veteran vowing to vanquish with 250 pounds of vicious velocity, Big Blue Saw has you covered. From December 1 through December 31, we’re making the following high performance materials available on the website for instant online ordering and quoting:
| Material | Thickness in Inches |
| AR400 Abrasion Resistant Steel | 0.125, 0.1875, 0.25 |
| AR500 Abrasion Resistant Steel | 0.1875, 0.25, 0.375, 0.75 |
| Titanium 6Al-4V, a.k.a. Grade 5 Titanium | 0.032, 0.0625, 0.09, 0.125 |
| UHMW Polyethylene Plastic | 0.75, 1 |
Normally these materials are only available for a custom order, but during Robot Building Season, you can save time and money by ordering them directly from our online quoting system.
For more on the uses of these materials, and how to choose the best one, I highly recommend checking out the RioBotz Combat Robot Tutorial by Marco Antonio Meggiolaro. Chapter 3 discusses in detail the best use of each of these materials.
But wait, you might say, fighting robots are not my thing, so these high performance materials are overkill. If you’re building a robot arm, research robot, or task robot, we’ve got you covered there, too with specials throughout December.
All orders placed online for the sale materials during the sale period will automatically receive a quantity discount. That means that when you order as little as one part, you get the same price as if you had ordered 10.
Please keep in mind that the Big Blue Saw offices will be closed Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year’s Day so that all of our employees can spend time with their families.
Happy Holidays, and Happy Robot Building Season!
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When Zac O'Donnell needed replacement parts for his 30 pound fighting robot Magneato, he turned to Big Blue Saw.
Originally designed in Alibre Design, Zac was able to export DXF files to use with our online ordering system to order parts made from 1/8 inch thick aluminum 7075. Magneato's name comes from its magnetic clutch which connects a flywheel to a powerful lifting arm. This lets Magneato toss its opponents around the arena with ease.
Have a look at Zac's Magneato build album for more details.
The 7075 aluminum Zac used has a tensile strength about 85% higher than the more common 6061 alloy. That makes it ideal for applications where the parts need to be able to take a beating. Zac has competed with Magneato at NERC events since 2014.
Here's a video of Magneato in action at this year's NERC Franklin Institute competition. Are your robot parts this tough? Let us know!