Carbide

"This is the most potent robot we have seen thus far in this Grand Final, in this series of Robot Wars, perhaps ever!"

- Jonathan Pearce, during Carbide's Series 8 battle against Thor

Carbide is a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 8-9 of Robot Wars. It reached the Grand Final in Series 8, finishing runners-up to eventual champion Apollo after a close final-round battle.

According to the official Robot Wars website, Team Carbide rated their chances of winning Series 8 at '10 out of 10', and the robot featured heavily in promotional trailers, with the BBC listing Carbide as one of the most destructive robots in the series.

Design
"At its maximum speed, the impact of a hit from Carbide’s blade has 60 times more energy than a sniper bullet."

- Robot Wars website

Carbide is an invertible black and green robot with two-wheel drive and a large horizontal bar spinner at the front. Carbide's weapon is considered to be the most powerful bar spinner in Robot Wars history, measuring 85cm in length, weighing 25kg and spinning at 2300RPM. The weapon operates at 20 horsepower to inflict massive damage. The robot also features a steep wedge at the rear, used to deflect other spinners and push other robots around if necessary. Carbide's armour consists of 5mm military grade steel, and 8mm aerospace grade aluminium and a shock-mounted top panel. Though it started off with black tyres during the Group Battle and Head to Head stages, it wore yellow tyres in the Heat Final and all of the final, very similar to the tyres of Glitterbomb. For Series 9, Carbide received a new top panel as well as a new weapon motor and an upgraded clutch assembly for its bar spinner. The new weapon motor - dubbed 'Bille-tek' by the team - is equally as powerful as the former Etek motor, but shorter, lighter and features a custom billet housing. Carbide's top speed was increased from 12mph to 15mph, its top armour was cushioned, and it also received a revised paint job, with yellow tips on its spinner as well as a new logo.

Rivalry
More so than any two Grand Finalists bar Tornado and Razer, Carbide developed a rivalry with Apollo during the Series 8 Grand Final which followed into Series 9. Much like most Robot Wars rivalries, most of the spectacle on TV was staged or good-natured, although Team Carbide still added fuel to the fire over Twitter

The two originally fought in Series 8's first round melee of the Grand Final, where Apollo hung back and let Shockwave attack Carbide, and were eventually defeated by them, allowing both Carbide and Apollo to progress. They first fought each other alone in the Head-to-Head stage, where Carbide emerged victorious after immobilising Apollo's rear. Dave Moulds later landed a punishing blow on the already immobile Apollo, a tactical move to cause Apollo further damage and reduce its threat level later in the episode. Despite this, Apollo reached the Grand Final after defeating Thor and TR2, and, using the same tactics TR2 used in its head to head, managed to stop Carbide's weapon by flipping it repeatedly. The match went to the judges, and Apollo won the judges' decision and the UK Championship title.

In Series 9, the producers drew Carbide and Apollo were together in the heat stage, something that had never occurred before in Robot Wars history. The rehashed rivalry dominated the marketing campaign throughout Series 9, and was referenced several times by Dara Ó Briain, Angela Scanlon and Jonathan Pearce. When the two met in the Head to Head Stage, Carbide won in much the same way as the Series 8 Head to Heads. Though Apollo repaired the damage and defeated Coyote and Crackers 'n' Smash to reach the Heat Final, Carbide won once more and eliminated Apollo at the heat stage.

As of the end of Series 9's heats, Carbide has three wins to Apollo's one.

Series 8
Carbide appeared in Episode 1, where it was drawn against the experienced Behemoth, new machine from former heat winners Bonk, and Third Wars footballer, The General in its first-round melee.

Although it sustained an initial slam from Bonk, Carbide was free to target the opponents of its choice in the first round, with Behemoth specifically avoiding it. Carbide landed its first blow on the exposed tyres of The General, knocking it back. Carbide's spinning bar spent a brief moment inactive after this, and needed to dodge its opponents, but when back at full speed Carbide charged into The General, removing its tyre completely, and also hitting Bonk with the same blow, immobilising it. Essentially victorious at this stage, Carbide grazed Behemoth's scoop before hitting The General one last time, and then landing some full-power blows to the now-inverted Bonk. Carbide qualified alongside Behemoth.

After its first round battle, it was revealed that Carbide's weapon motor had broken, and its team struggled to repair it in time for their next match. However, after some help from John Reid, the motor was fixed in time for Carbide's first battle of the head-to-head stage, against John Reid's own Terrorhurtz. In preparation, Team Carbide added an extra layer of polycarbonate to the top of their robot, as protection from Terrorhurtz's axe, which ironically never worked in the following battle. On the very first charge, Carbide's blade clashed with Terrorhurtz's scoop, sending Carbide reeling into the air, and bounced upside-down when it landed. Carbide was pushed around the arena by Terrorhurtz, although it usually landed a blow on Terrorhurtz's scoop at the same time, bending the HARDOX wedge. Carbide was pushed into the arena wall, pit release tyre, and flame pit. Carbide was unable to drive off the flame pit, so after being burnt, it was freed by Sir Killalot. Regardless, Carbide could not move freely, and Terrorhurtz pushed it onto the lip of the pit. Carbide span its blade up to full speed as a form of defence, but was pitted regardless. "I used to be on John's team, so I knew exactly what his tactics were!"

- Dave Moulds

Carbide was then drawn against newcomer Nuts. Despite the team claiming they would only do what was necessary, Carbide did not hold back, and landed two blows within the first few seconds, and disabled one of Nuts' minibots. The third attack from Carbide was a major blow which removed Nuts’ outer rim, as well as literal nuts and bolts, leaving them with no weaponry. Carbide was required to catch a fleeing Nuts, and when it did, two hits threw Nuts towards Sir Killalot. "Oh, look at the power! This is one of the strongest, most venomous weapons I've ever seen!"

- Jonathan Pearce on Carbide's blade

Another blow from Carbide threw Nuts through the air into the pit release at incredible speeds, and the following hit removed Nuts' wheel and put it out of the arena completely. Nuts was counted out, while Carbide chased a minibot and disabled its movement on one side. Carbide was awarded 3 points for its dominant win. During the battle, Carbide had flung a shard of Nuts' armour towards Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon's control room, the subject of several news articles. In its final head-to-head, Carbide met Behemoth for the second time. Carbide wasted no time, and struck Behemoth, sending the large robot spinning away, while Carbide was the robot thrown airborne on its second and third attacks. Spinning around, Carbide landed some lighter blows, still generating many sparks. A slice through Behemoth's scoop was clearly visible, before Carbide's biggest attack yet disabled Behemoth's scoop completely, with a follow-up hit knocking it over. With its srimech already extended, Behemoth could not self-right before Carbide had already pushed it into the pit. With 6 points, Carbide had qualified for the heat final, where it would meet Behemoth once again. In the third meeting between the two, Carbide's very first hit seemed to limit Behemoth's mobility. Carbide landed further blows upon Behemoth, most of which caused Behemoth to remain immobile for seconds at a time before making another small movement. Carbide pressed the pit release, with Behemoth sat right beside it. Thinking its opponent was defeated, Carbide halted its spinning blade, and drove onto Behemoth's scoop to push it towards the pit, though Behemoth flipped in retaliation. Carbide retreated, as Behemoth could only move in circles until Carbide drew nearer, at which point Behemoth reversed into the pit, allowing Carbide to qualify for the Grand Final. In its Grand Final group battle, Carbide faced Apollo and Shockwave. The battle was short, but incredibly destructive. Team Carbide acted on their pre-battle tactics and immediately hit Shockwave, only for Shockwave to get underneath Carbide and push it into Shunt's CPZ, where it spun and hit the side wall blade-first. The impact tore off one of the wall panels, stopping the battle early due to safety concerns. However, before 'cease' was called, Carbide slammed into Shockwave's right-hand side, tearing its side panel apart and causing its rear wheel to become dislodged, before being flipped by Apollo. The battle was due to be restarted once repairs were completed, but Shockwave withdrew due to the damage inflicted by Carbide, so Carbide and Apollo advanced to the next round. In the Head to Heads, Carbide first faced wildcard Thor. It deflected Thor's initial charge, and after its opponent was flipped by the Floor Flipper, began hammering and tearing into Thor's armour, ripping off its side panels and buckling, then tearing off, its front 'anti-Carbide plate'. "Well, they’ve put the buffer on, they have the pointed steel top – they are being absolutely savaged and the buffer didn’t last long!"

- Jonathan Pearce watches as Carbide rips Thor’s front plate off

Carbide steered into Shunt's scoop, before charging at Thor again, tearing through Thor's front wedge and sending it spinning on its side. Another hit threw Thor over as it tried to swing its axe, and despite self-righting, Thor became immobilised after sustaining more hits from Carbide's blade, which tore more gashes into its armour and ripped one of its wheels loose. Carbide scored three points for this commanding victory. Next, it faced Apollo. Apollo charged straight into Carbide, turning it over through the recoil of its opponent's blade. However, a second blow immobilised Apollo completely, with Carbide hitting it again and rebounding into Shunt. In the dying seconds, Carbide approached Apollo, and despite Team MAD persuading Team Carbide not to cause any more damage, hit its side as 'cease' was called. "Underhand tactics, there!"

- Jonathan Pearce’s view of Carbide’s extra blow

After the battle, Team MAD appeared to be disappointed with the extra damage inflicted by Carbide. However, this victory gave Carbide another three points, enough to secure it its place in the Final. "Cheap shot!"

- Dave Young to Team Carbide

In its third and final Head to Head, Carbide faced the flipper of TR2. Carbide began strongly, ripping parts of TR2’s armour off and causing it to spin into Sir Killalot’s CPZ. It hit TR2 again as it tried to dodge Sir Killalot, leaving a gash in its flipper and sending it flying onto the Flame Pit. However, Carbide's blade stopped spinning as TR2 pressed the pit release button, with TR2 flipping it over and pushing it into the wall, almost propping Carbide up against it. After a few more flips from TR2, Carbide retreated, with TR2 following it around the arena, only to drive onto the Floor Flipper three times in an attempt to re-right itself. TR2 pushed Carbide over the Flame Pit and flipped it again, but failed to flip it over, so it pushed and flipped it into Shunt. "Carbide… is a toy for TR2! Can they survive?"

- Jonathan Pearce as TR2 harries the weaponless Carbide

Carbide retaliated by charging into TR2, steering it around as Shunt closed in. TR2 landed another flip on Carbide, before driving round the perimeter of the arena and pushing it towards Shunt again, who rammed Carbide against the wall twice and axed its underside. Another couple of shoves from TR2 saw Carbide slammed into Shunt again, who axed it again and propped it against the wall in the closing seconds. The judges' decision unanimously went in favour of TR2, while Dave Moulds revealed in the pits afterwards that one of Carbide’s clutch plates had disintegrated, causing its weapon to fail. Even so, Carbide still scored enough points to secure its place in the Final, where it faced Apollo once again. As before, Apollo charged straight underneath Carbide, tipping it onto its side and deflecting it into Sir Killalot, who grasped it with his claw before Apollo flipped it up against the wall. Carbide recovered, landing a few blows on Apollo which dislodged one of its top panels, before a violent hit sent both robots spinning. Carbide tore another of Apollo's panels off, but its weapon clutch failed again as Apollo launched it into the air, the blade stopping completely as Carbide hit the floor. "They can get in underneath that blade, they can flip, they can cause trouble and they’ve done it! They’ve done it! Sparks flew, as the blade crashed against the arena floor, and Carbide in real trouble!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Apollo begins flipping Carbide over and over

With its weapon disabled, Carbide was left helpless as Apollo flipped it several times around the arena, almost being thrown out at one point. Eventually, Carbide pressed the pit release button, almost getting flipped by the Floor Flipper as it rode up Apollo’s wedge again. The two machines continued nudging each other, with Apollo getting under and flipping itself onto its back trying to flip Carbide again. Carbide was flipped again close to the pit release, but escaped as Sir Killalot closed in to attack both it and Apollo. "And it’s all Apollo, and there is no shuttle to safety, for Carbide."

- Pearce as Apollo and Carbide escape Sir Killalot Apollo's flipper was wedged open by this point, but it used the open flipper to grab hold of Carbide and push it into Shunt. Carbide steered out of Shunt's CPZ, then got flipped by Apollo again, before cornering Apollo into Shunt as it sustained damage from the House Robot. It chased Apollo around as it drove around the edge of the pit, before riding up Apollo and closing its flipper. Carbide steered Apollo into a CPZ before getting flipped by the Floor Flipper, than after one last flip Apollo grabbed hold of Carbide again and pushed it into Shunt, who axed Carbide’s underside as time ran out.

The battle went to a judges' decision, with both robots suffering equal amounts of damage and having lost use of their weapons. However, after a close and thrilling fight, the judges unanimously voted for Apollo, with Carbide emerging as the Series 8 runners-up.

Series 9
"Carbide will start as the favourites, I would imagine."

- Jonathan Pearce as Carbide's first battle in Series 9 commences

As the Series 8 runner-up, Carbide competed in Episode 5, where it faced newcomers Crackers 'n' Smash, Meggamouse and Trolley Rage in its Group Battle. Confident that they could defeat their rookie opponents, Dave Moulds planned for the future, knowing that the reigning champion Apollo was in the same episode. "It'd be good to have another crack at Apollo, definitely!"

- Dave Moulds

In the opening seconds of the battle, Carbide immediately slammed into Trolley Rage, ripping one of the latter's front panels loose, before hitting Smash, immobilising Meggamouse's minibot Charles and hitting Meggamouse itself in rapid succession. Carbide continued shredding the sides of Charles before immobilising Trolley Rage with a second hit; ripping Trolley Rage’s front panel clean off and sending it spinning into the middle of the arena in the process. Moments later, it slammed into Smash a few more times, causing more damage to its weapon and already-warped front wedge, before chasing Smash across the arena and attacking Crackers. "You can see here the effect of Carbide. Any impact from that mighty spinning blade will cause so much damage."

- Jonathan Pearce observes the destruction caused by Carbide during the Group Battle

Sparks flew as Carbide's blade hit Crackers' sides and top, the latter attack destroying Crackers' lifter as the two robots drove away from each other. Carbide then attacked Smash once again, before slamming into Crackers and Meggamouse, destroying the latter's wheel in doing so. With both Trolley Rage and Meggamouse now immobilised, Carbide progressed to the Head-to-Head round along with Crackers 'n' Smash, as a result of this commanding performance.

Carbide's first Head-to-Head battle saw it face the defending champion Apollo, in a rematch of the previous series' Grand Final. It immediately dodged Apollo's charge before being pushed around the arena, but survived as Apollo flipped itself trying to throw Carbide over. Carbide drove underneath Apollo as the latter self-righted, and caused substantial damage as it hit Apollo’s sides and flipper. Another succession of hits ripped the top panel of Apollo's flipper off and deflected Apollo towards the Arena Tyre, before Carbide immobilised Apollo completely as the latter tried to push it sideways. "Smash it."

- Sam Smith orders David Moulds to deal more damage to the immobilised Apollo

Carbide hit Apollo several more times in spite of this, buckling its flipper and sending showers of sparks flying as it repeatedly damaged its wedge, sides and rear. Apollo regained mobility just as 'cease' was called, but Carbide hit it one more time, causing Apollo to throw itself onto its back, and allowing the reigning champion to be held over the Flame Pit by Sir Killalot. Carbide was declared victorious, and scored three points for this knockout victory. "The champions are in trouble... and that death hum is a glorious noise for Carbide now."

- Jonathan Pearce as Carbide emerges victorious

Next, Carbide faced the clusterbot Crackers 'n' Smash, in their second encounter between each other. Initially, Team Conker were forced to withdraw Crackers 'n' Smash from this battle, as their strategy to remove its weapons contravened the active weapons rule, and would've resulted in it being automatically disqualified. However, when informed by the production crew of these circumstances, Team Carbide requested that the battle went ahead anyway. Carbide immediately hit Smash as all three robots gathered in the centre of the arena, sending sparks and debris flying as it hit both halves of Crackers 'n' Smash. However, it bounced up on top of Crackers in the process, and got stuck as it tried to drive off. In doing so, Carbide's spinner hit Smash’s replacement wedge several times, causing more sparks and debris to fly, before Smash pushed it around to point its spinner away from the arena floor. After spending some time wedged on Crackers, Carbide was pushed off by the inverted Smash, and proceeded to hit both halves of Crackers 'n' Smash several more times. It attacked Crackers as Smash pressed the Arena Tyre and activated the pit, before sending Smash spinning into the wall with a powerful blow. "Well, the Carbide spinning blade is capable of thrashing these two little bots – Whoa-ho-ho! How about that? They caused massive problems to the arena wall as well, look!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Carbide flings Smash into the wall

This was enough to break off a wall panel and send Smash flying into Shunt, which forced the battle to be stopped immediately after Carbide hit Crackers again. While the arena was successfully repaired, Crackers 'n' Smash forfeited the battle in order to prevent both halves from sustaining any more damage, granting Carbide an additional three points. Leading the results table with six points, Carbide faced the newcomer Coyote in its third and last Head-to-Head battle. It drove out of Coyote's way as the latter charged towards it, before the two robots turned round and collided, sending Carbide recoiling and flipping violently into the air as its spinner hit the floor. The impact also caused Coyote to recoil into Sir Killalot's CPZ, allowing Carbide to slam into its front again as Coyote tried to escape. Carbide waited as Sir Killalot grabbed and held Coyote over the Flame Pit, before hitting Coyote a third time; the impact sending Coyote spinning and ripping its left-hand wheel out. Despite Coyote being immobile, Carbide continued to damage its chassis and weapon right until 'cease' was called, and once again scored three points for this knock-out victory. This ensured that Carbide topped the Head-to-Head leaderboard with nine points, comfortably securing its place in the Heat Final. "Apollo took the trophy in the last series. Can Carbide get their revenge? They look the more improved machine here."

- Jonathan Pearce before the start of the Heat Final

There, it faced Apollo for the second time, in what would be their fifth battle together. The two robots drove straight into each other, with Carbide driving up Apollo's wedge and sending sparks flying as the latter pushed it around. Carbide ripped one of Apollo's top panels off as it was deflected away towards the Flame Pit, with more sparks flying as it again drove up Apollo's flipper. It continued hitting Apollo as the latter pushed, drove into and deflected it away, but briefly stopped moving across the arena after this succession of hits. Carbide turned round, however, and eventually immobilised Apollo again after hitting it several more times; at one point, it held its spinner against Apollo's flipper, sending sparks flying and ripping a large chunk of the latter's armour out. "Oh, look at the disc, now up to speed – the banshee hum!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Carbide batters Apollo's front

As a result, Apollo was counted out and sustained more damage from the House Robots, while Carbide advanced to its second consecutive Grand Final.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 12
 * Losses: 3

Series Record
This Series Record incorporates the history of both Sam Smith and Dave Moulds as individual roboteers

Outside Robot Wars
After Series 8 of Robot Wars ended, Carbide attended a Robots Live event in Stevenage in October 2016, appearing as a static display outside the arena. It has yet to compete at a live event, due to the regulation ban on spinning weaponry.

For more information on Team Carbide's achievements outside of Robot Wars, including their BattleBots entry Cobalt, see here.

Trivia

 * Due to the nature of the Series 8 format, Carbide became the first robot to lose a battle in its qualifying episode and then go on to win it.
 * Carbide is the only robot to fight two robots (Behemoth and Apollo) a total of three times within a single series.
 * It has also fought Apollo a total of five times - three in Series 8, and twice in Series 9.
 * Carbide was the third robot in Series 9 to go undefeated in the Head-to-Head round without requiring a Judges' decision, along with Aftershock and Eruption.
 * In Series 9, it also became the fifth robot to score the full 9 points in the Head-to-Heads, after TR2, Kadeena Machina, Aftershock and Eruption.