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"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 was a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 8, 9 and 10 of Robot Wars.

Finishing runner-up in its debut series to Apollo, it won the title in Series 9, twice achieving vengeance over the latter and defeating every other Grand Finalist in the series along the way. In doing so, Carbide became the first UK Champion since Chaos 2 in Series 3 to win via knockout, and achieved its championship victory without a single loss.

Carbide entered Series 10 as the defending champion, reaching its third consecutive Grand Final after winning rematches against Aftershock and Eruption in its Heat. However, after suffering an initial loss against Nuts 2 in its Grand Final Group Battle, it ultimately finished runner-up in this series to Eruption, the robot which it previously vanquished in its Series 9 final and earlier heat.

A collaboration between Dave Moulds and Sam Smith (the latter of whom had previously enjoyed moderate success on Robot Wars with Tiberius), Carbide featured a powerful bar spinner which proved to be one of the most potent weapons in the Revival Series. The spinner was capable of causing substantial external and internal damage as well as immobilising opponents within a few hits.

Carbide's weapon proved so destructive that many of its opponents, such as Aftershock, Ironside3, Thor and Crackers 'n' Smash, were unable to be fully repaired in time for later battles. This, in turn, contributed to losses resulting from lingering damage and broken weapons.

"I've been fighting robots for 15 years and this one scares me."
— Dave Moulds in Carbide's introduction during Series 8

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 on Carbide in Series 8
Carbide Series 8 arena

Carbide in Series 8 at the end of its first battle

Carbide yel wheels

Carbide with its yellow wheels used from the Heat Final onwards

Carbide was an invertible black and green robot with two-wheel drive and a large horizontal bar spinner at the front. Carbide's weapon was considered to be the most powerful of its type in Robot Wars history, measuring 85cm in length, weighing 25kg and spinning at 2,300rpm in Series 8. The spinner operated at 20 horsepower to inflict massive damage, with a spin-up time of just three seconds being quoted by Dave Moulds in later series. The robot also featured a steep wedge at the rear, used to deflect other spinners and push other robots around if necessary.

Carbide's armour consisted of 5mm military grade steel, and 8mm aerospace grade aluminium, as well as a shock-mounted top panel made of soft plastic. Though it started off with black tyres during the Group Battle and Head to Head stages, it wore yellow tyres from the Heat Final onward, very similar to the tyres of GlitterBomb, with its two-wheel drive system boasting 4.3 horsepower. Carbide's weapon was extremely powerful, albeit somewhat unreliable in Series 8 with a few occasions where the clutch system would force the weapon to stop spinning in battle - after discussions with Ray Billings of Tombstone fame, Team Carbide were able to put this weapon failure down to the absence of a single washer in the clutch system[1].

"The Robot Wars arena is one of the few in the world deemed safe enough to run Carbide's powerful 25kg, 85cm horizontal spinning bar."
Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot
Carbide S9

Carbide in Series 9

Carbide Series9 Arena

Carbide in the arena during Series 9

For Series 9, Carbide received various upgrades. Externally, a new top panel made of bulletproof glass was added, while the chassis remained the same as the previous series but with updated visuals. The internals were fully reworked, including a new custom-made weapon motor and a remedied clutch system. The new weapon motor - dubbed 'Bille-tek' by the team - contributed to a 20% increase in overall output over the original Etek-based system, while being shorter, lighter and featuring a custom billet housing.[2]

Carbide's top speed was increased from 12mph to 15mph, with the tip speed of its bar spinner was also increased from 200mph to 250mph. The robot also received a revised paint job, with neon green instead of a dark lime green, yellow tips on its spinning bar, and a new logo.

"Arguably the most destructive Robot Wars competitor, Carbide returned for Series 10 with a refined design and the option of using a new interchangeable spinning bar."
— Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot
Carbide S10

Carbide in Series 10

CarbideBars

Carbide with its interchangeable spinning bars

Carbide returned in Series 10, for which it used new top armour and had its base frame entirely rewelded with chromoly tubing for renewed strength.[3] Its primary adaptation was its selection of interchangeable bar spinners. Before each battle, Team Carbide had the choice of three different bars, including the existing bar, a second black-and-green bar that was otherwise identical to the original weapon, and a heavier red bar with curved rear tips. However, the red bar ultimately went unused, as its increased weight forced the team to use an aluminium/steel weapon shaft instead of a titanium/steel one. During a safety test, the friction generated caused the materials of the lighter shaft to expand at different rates, resulting in a bushing in the centre of Carbide's weapon seizing up.[4] A solution to these issues could not be implemented at filming, thus rendering the red bar spinner unusable.[5]

"When we started designing the robot, we wanted to make something as destructive as possible, and would be really entertaining as well as being competitive. We didn't want to have to armour against other people as much as they'd want to armour against us."
— Dave Moulds on the inspiration behind Carbide[6]

The Team[]

Main article: Team Carbide
Team carbide

Team Carbide in Series 8

Carbide with team

Team Carbide in Series 9

Carbide was entered into three series by Team Carbide, a joint collaboration of Dave Moulds and Sam Smith, both of whom had separately competed on the live circuit for many years, with Sam Smith also entering Tiberius into previous series of Robot Wars. Throughout all of Carbide's appearances, Dave Moulds was the robot's driver, while Sam Smith operated the weaponry.

Team Carbide S10

Team Carbide in Series 10

Dave Moulds was the team captain for Series 8 and 9, and was the lead speaker for the team in both, but Sam Smith took on the captaining role in Series 10 to express the equal involvement of both team members, as Carbide had been engineered and financed equally by Moulds and Smith. In Series 8 only, Sheryl Prior featured as the third team member.

Robot History[]

Series 8[]

Carbide made its Robot Wars debut in the first Revival Series episode - Heat A of Series 8. In its Group Battle, it was drawn against the experienced Behemoth, Team Mute's new axe-wielding machine Bonk, and the dual-spinner incarnation of Series 3 Robotic Soccer finalist The General.

Angela Scanlon: "So your plan is to literally demolish everything in your way?"
Dave Moulds: "Hopefully!"
— The battle plan
CarbideTheGeneralwheel

Carbide removes The General's wheel

Carbide vs bonk

Carbide attacks the immobile Bonk

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.

TerrorhurtzCarbidefly

Carbide recoils away from Terrorhurtz

Terrorhurtz Carbide official shot

Carbide's blade strikes the front of Terrorhurtz

After its Group Battle, it was revealed that Carbide's weapon motor had broken; the team struggled to repair it for the start of the Head-to-Head stage. With assistance from John Reid, the necessary repairs were completed in time, allowing Carbide to face Reid's own competitor Terrorhurtz - a former UK Grand Finalist. In preparation, Team Carbide added an extra layer of 7075 polycarbonate to the top of their robot, to offer protection from Terrorhurtz's axe, which ironically would not function throughout the course of this fight.

Terrorhurtz Carbide 1

Carbide loses mobility over the flame pit

Terrorhurtz vs Carbide

Carbide is pitted by Terrorhurtz

On the very first charge, Carbide's bar clashed with Terrorhurtz's wedge, sending it reeling into the air and on its back. Upon landing, the whole robot was now resting on its extra top armour, preventing the wheels from making full contact with the floor. Left largely beached as a result, Carbide was pushed around the arena by Terrorhurtz, while landing more spinner hits which bent the latter's 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 spun 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, and required a victory to remain in the competition.

Carbide vs Nuts S8

Carbide causes damage to the structure of Nuts

Carbide vs nuts

Carbide shakes loose the outer rim of 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
Carbide vs nuts wheel s8

Carbide tears off Nuts' wheel

WhatsLeftOfNuts

The remains of Nuts after the encounter with Carbide

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, having previously avoided each other in their opening melee.

CarbideBehemoth

Carbide disables Behemoth's scoop

Carbide vs Behemoth

Carbide pushes Behemoth into the pit

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.

Carbide vs Behemoth Final

A huge collision between the two

BehemothSuicide

Carbide watches as Behemoth reverses into the pit

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 fellow Heat winners and newcomers, Apollo and Shockwave.

Carbide destroys the arena wall

Carbide breaks the wall

Carbide hits shockwave

Carbide slams into Shockwave

Apollo vs shockwave vs carbide

Apollo sends Carbide flying

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.

"It’s always disappointing to lose, but we always knew that Carbide was going to be a fantastic robot to fight, and I reckon they’ll go far."
Will Thomas

In the Head-to-Heads, Carbide first faced the wildcard entry and New Blood grand finalist Thor.

Carbide vs thor 1

Carbide tears off Thor's front plate

Carbide vs Thor

Carbide recoils away from Thor

Carbide 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 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 vs

The victorious Carbide with Thor, post battle

Carbide vs thor 2

Carbide sends Thor spinning

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.

"Carbide, as a chemical compound, one of the strongest in the world. Carbide, the robot - one of the strongest we've ever seen..."
— Jonathan Pearce following Carbide's victory against Thor

Next, Carbide faced Apollo, their first head-to-head after their brief encounter in the second Group Battle. A victory here would ensure its qualification for the overall championship final.

Carbide immobilises apollo

Carbide immobilises Apollo on its second hit

Carbide vs

Carbide attacks the immobilised Apollo

Apollo charged straight into Carbide, turning it over through the recoil of its opponent's blade. However, a second blow from Carbide's bar spinner immobilised Apollo completely, with only four seconds on the clock elapsed. Carbide hit Apollo again and rebounded into Shunt. Whilst Apollo was being counted out, Carbide approached it, and despite Team MAD pleading with Team Carbide not to cause any more damage, Carbide hit Apollo's 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. Nevertheless, Carbide fought one more head-to-head at this stage, against another fellow newcomer TR2.

"Cheap shot!"
— Dave Young to Team Carbide
Carbide vs tr2 1

Carbide sends TR2 airborne

Carbide vs tr2 floor flipper

Carbide is tossed by the Floor Flipper

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 vs tr2 2

TR2 flips Carbide

Carbide vs tr2 3

Carbide, sandwiched between TR2 and Shunt

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.

Despite this loss to TR2, Carbide had collected six points in the head-to-head rounds, level with the six points collected by its final opponent of Series 8 - Apollo.

Apollo vs carbide GF 1

Carbide rips a panel off Apollo

To start off the title fight, 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
Apollo vs carbide GF 2

Apollo launches Carbide into the air

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 vs carbide GF 3

Apollo assails Carbide

Apollo vs carbide GF 4

Carbide is locked in a deadly embrace as time runs out

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 runner-up of Series 8.

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 entered Heat E of Series 9 as a newly-established championship contender. Its Group Battle saw it face newcomers Crackers 'n' Smash and Trolley Rage, along with Meggamouse - the successor to Classic Series heavyweight Mighty Mouse. Confident that they could defeat their rookie opponents, Dave Moulds planned for the future, knowing that the reigning champion Apollo was also competing in the same episode.

"It'd be good to have another crack at Apollo, definitely!"
— Dave Moulds
Carbide vs trolley rage

Carbide immobilises Trolley Rage

Carbide vs crackers

Sparks fly as Carbide attacks Crackers

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
Carbide destroys meggamouse's wheel

Carbide destroys Meggamouse's wheel

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.

Dave Moulds: "Too many robots in there; I was spoilt for choice, really."
Sam Smith: "Yeah, we're pretty happy with how it kept spinning up. It seems to be all running nicely at the end, so it's definitely a good start for it."
— Team Carbide discuss their performance in the Group Battle

Carbide's first Head-to-Head battle saw it face the defending champion Apollo, in a rematch of the previous series' Grand Final.

Carbide vs apollo s9 h2h 1

Carbide survives Apollo's first flip

Carbide vs apollo s9 h2h 2

Carbide rips the top of Apollo's flipper off

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 Dave Moulds to deal more damage to the immobilised Apollo
Carbide vs apollo s9 h2h 3

Carbide deals more damage to the concussed 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 faced the prospect of having to withdraw Crackers 'n' Smash from this battle, as their strategy to remove their robots' weapons contravened the active weapons rule, which would have resulted in the entire clusterbot being automatically disqualified. However, when informed by the production crew of these circumstances, Team Carbide requested that the battle went ahead anyway.[7]

Carbide vs crackers 'n' smash

Sparks fly as Carbide's spinner hits Smash's wedge

Carbide vs crackers 'n' smash 2

Smash pushes Carbide off Crackers

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
Carbide vs crackers 'n' smash big hit

Carbide sends Smash hurtling 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 had already qualified for the Heat Final, but still faced the newcomer Coyote in its third and final Head-to-Head battle of the round.

Carbide Coyote 2

The first hit from Carbide sends both machines flying aside

Carbide 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

In the Heat Final, Carbide faced Apollo for the second time, in what would be their fifth battle together, with the winner earning a spot in their second Grand Final.

Carbide vs Apollo HF2

Carbide throws sparks by hitting Apollo

Carbide vs Apollo HF3

The flurry of attacks that won the battle for Carbide

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

"Oh, look at the disc, now up to speed – the banshee hum!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide batters Apollo's front

In the Group Battle of the Grand Final, Carbide was first met with competition from Heat 4 winner Ironside3 and series newcomer Concussion in its Group Battle.

Carbide vs Concussion

Carbide sends Concussion spinning

Carbide got up to speed straight away and darted towards Concussion which backed towards the Arena Tyre. Carbide connected with a hit to Concussion's left-hand side, which severely limited Concussion's mobility. Carbide then moved away from Concussion and towards Ironside3, and as both machines moved past each other Ironside3 exposed its back which Carbide took advantage of by severely damaging Ironside3's self-righting mechanism. Then, both Carbide and Ironside3 swarmed around the limping Concussion and took turns in creating further damage to the Heat 3 winner. Carbide then lined up an attack from range before charging in on Concussion, with the contact from Carbide's bar sending Concussion spinning into the Arena Tyre, which deflected it into Shunt's CPZ.

"Oh, Carbide - goodness me! More pushing power, more venom in the blade."
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide hurls Concussion into the Arena Tyre
Carbide vs Ironside3 selfrighter

Carbide damages Ironside3's srimech

At this point, Concussion was completely immobile and the countdown started. In the time remaining Carbide and Ironside3 eyeballed each other from a distance, with a twitch forward from Carbide triggering Ironside3 into a slight retreat. Concussion's elimination was then confirmed when the timer reached ten, and Carbide progressed to the Head-to-Head stage of the Grand Final with Ironside3.

Angela Scanlon: "Carbide, textbook for you?"
Dave Moulds: "Yeah, went really well what I can remember of it. Bits were flying everywhere so it's pretty fun."
— Dave Moulds reacts after an explosive Group Battle performance from Carbide

After progressing from the Group Battle, thoughts turned towards Carbide's first Head-to-Head opponent, the vertical spinner of Aftershock, the successor to Shockwave, who Carbide defeated before in its previous Grand Final.

"Our only real option - he's quite well defended - is just go weapon to weapon. Hopefully we'll come out on top. It's going to be a big bang either way."
— Dave Moulds
Carbide vs aftershock 1

Carbide rips away one of Aftershock's panels in the first hit between the two

Both machines made contact in the opening seconds of the battle, with Carbide sending Aftershock aside and ripping away one of its protective panels in the process. Aftershock attempted to recover quickly by darting into Carbide, but two quick slashes from Carbide's weapon left Aftershock immobilised.

Carbide vs aftershock 2

Carbide rips away one of Aftershock's side panels...

"Listen to Carbide's death hum - it's a death rattle for Aftershock!"
— Jonathan Pearce
Aftershock panel arena wall

...and embeds it in the arena wall

With its opponent unable to move, Carbide lingered around before smashing into the side of Aftershock. This impact sent one of Aftershock's panels arrowing off into the distance where it penetrated one of the polycarbonate arena panels and became embedded, stunning the hosts and teams alike as they inspected the scene themselves after the fight.

"I think we should leave it there - a little memento!"
— Dave Moulds

With three points under their belt after dismantling Aftershock in staggering fashion, Team Carbide were keen to double their tally against their next opponent, Eruption.

"So we've noticed on Eruption the side armour is attached directly to their wheels and their bearings and shaft, so if we give them a good hit there it should immobilise their drive train. If we can do that we'll be able to come out on top."
— Dave Moulds before Carbide's second Head-to-Head battle
Eruption vs Carbide H2H

Eruption deflects an early Carbide attack

Carbide arched to the side before engaging with the onrushing Eruption, with contact between the two sending Carbide flying away. Carbide was then thrown around again as Eruption crashed into the front of Carbide for a second time.

"And the power of the Carbide spinning blade sends both robots rocking across the arena floor!"
— Jonathan Pearce
Carbide vs Eruption H2H

Sparks fly as Carbide and Eruption collide

Carbide then retreated before turning around and connecting with a blow to the front of Eruption. Carbide quickly followed up this attack with a rally of quick blows which collapsed one of Eruption's side panels underneath it and ruptured its CO2 system. With Eruption now showing little signs of movement, Carbide came in again. Eruption desperately fired its flipper in an attempt to defend itself but only managed to throw itself over. Eruption then self-righted but landed on top of Carbide which connected with one final blow. Eruption was left overturned and immobilised, and Carbide spun around in victory as it confirmed another knockout victory and a place in the Grand Final championship battle.

"You've won every fight so far. Not one of your fights has lasted over a minute!"
— Angela Scanlon

With its passage out of the Head-to-Head stage confirmed, Carbide went into its final Head-to-Head battle against Ironside3 looking to end another battle quickly in an attempt to not sustain damage before the final.

"Watching their fights, they're quite slow to spin up. If we can get in there before they're up to speed and damage their bar or chassis, or something around there, hopefully that'll be all it'll need."
— Dave Moulds
Carbide vs ironside 3

The weapons of Carbide and Ironside3 collide

Carbide approached Ironside3 backed away slightly to get its own bar up to speed. Ironside3 then turned towards Carbide and the two machines traded blows with each other. Once again Ironside3 moved away, but Carbide continued to pursue its opponent and crashed into it. After Ironside3 was chucked up by the Floor Flipper, Carbide connected with two attacks in a row. Ironside3 then connected with a clean blow to the top of Carbide, but Carbide quickly replied with a strong hit of its own, which also disabled Ironside3's weapon.

"Ironside3 worn down into submission - the weaponry has stopped."
— Jonathan Pearce
Carbide KOs ironside 3

Carbide immobilises Ironside3 in a shower of sparks

With Ironside3 rendered impotent, Carbide thrashed it into Shunt's CPZ and then dealt the final knockout blow after Ironside3 was axed by Shunt.

Despite recording another victory, rounding off a perfect total of nine points, Team Carbide were concerned with the welfare of their machine, and after trundling it around the arena in the remaining seconds of the fight against Ironside3, the team inspected the damage to their machine. This included a large chip in its weapon hub, damaged front armour, and intermittent motor control towards the end of the fight.

Carbide damage Ironside3

Team Carbide inspect the damage inflicted by Ironside3

Dave Moulds: "We've had a bit of a clocking on the front."
Sam Smith: "It was super lucky there because it was literally millimetres from hitting our chain. We did have a couple of motor cutouts towards the end of that match - I don't know what that was. We don't want that in the final."
Dave Moulds: "To go out now for something silly would be stupid really, wouldn't it? So we're just going to check absolutely everything - make sure it's running perfect."
— Team Carbide look to iron out any problems before its Grand Final fight

After Eruption edged out Aftershock in the final battle of the Head-to-Head stage, Carbide's Grand Final opponent was confirmed. Against a flipper for the second championship deciding fight in succession after their defeat to Apollo in Series 8, Team Carbide were eager to right a wrong and come out with the Robot Wars title.

"We've been here before; we came a little bit short last year. If we can do it this year it'll be absolutely brilliant. We've got to give it our best shot and dish out some damage hopefully."
— Dave Moulds
Carbide vs Eruption GRAND FINAL

Carbide hits Eruption's side

Carbide still carried over intermittent motor control from its previous fight, and occasionally cut out Carbide's movement for brief moments of the fight. Nevertheless, Carbide started the Grand Final battle strong as a hit to the front of Eruption sent it into Shunt. As Eruption moved away from the House Robot's CPZ, Carbide hit Eruption with a couple of glancing blows. Carbide then raced around to the front of a retreating Eruption and Carbide's spinning bar churned out sparks from contact with Eruption's flipper, causing visible damage in the process. Eruption then lost drive on its right side, and Carbide continued to slash away at Eruption, which missed with two attempted flips. After turning itself over with its second flip and then self-righting, Eruption forced Carbide around in a circle, while the Series 8 runner-up continued to sends sparks flying off the front of Eruption. Carbide then crashed into the side of Eruption and hurled it onto the Floor Flipper, which lifted Eruption up before it landed back onto its wheels.

Eruption vs Carbide GRAND FINAL 2

Carbide tears into Eruption once again...

"Carbide spinning away. The red-hot favourite for this, slamming in on Eruption!"
— Jonathan Pearce
Eruption vs Carbide GRAND FINAL final blow

...and finally beats it into submission

Carbide attacked the damaged Eruption again, but after a strong hit on the front of Eruption, Carbide left its sides vulnerable and was flipped away by Eruption. With the threat of Eruption still alive, Carbide continued to dish out punishment, ripping away chunks of Eruption's armour. Eruption desperately tried to defend itself with its flipper, but Carbide didn't let up in its mutilation of Eruption and after causing more bodywork and internal damage, Eruption lost drive completely. With only its flipper functioning, Eruption laid beaten, and one final shattering hit from Carbide left Eruption crippled next to the Arena Spikes. With its opponent beaten and the countdown started, Carbide moved into the centre of the arena and spun around in delight.

"Carbide: the strongest of the strong!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide celebrates its Grand Final victory
Carbide Sir Killalot Shunt

The House Robots exact their revenge on the new champion

With its position as champion confirmed, Carbide decided to attack Sir Killalot after he came in to attack the beaten Eruption. Carbide was then attacked in a pincer move by Shunt and Sir Killalot, and although its weapon had now stopped working, Carbide managed to move away and spun around in celebration one final time. Unseen on television, Carbide was also lifted up against Shunt, sending sparks flying, and caused damage to Sir Killalot's claw.[8] Eventually, the battle was over, and Carbide was declared the champion of Robot Wars at the end of its ninth series.

Carbide Grand Champion

Carbide, Series 9 Champion

Angela Scanlon: "Carbide... What... What is there to say? An unstoppable force throughout this whole competition."
Dave Moulds: "Yeah, it's working pretty well now!"
Angela Scanlon: "It is working pretty well! I mean, it just seems to be faultless, really!"
— Post-battle thoughts after a victorious Grand Final battle for Carbide

Series 10[]

"Carbide is simply put the most feared machine in the UK. People are scared of it."
— Dave Moulds

Carbide returned for Series 10 as the reigning Robot Wars champion. Competing in Heat B, it faced former FRA UK Champions Gabriel 2 and Big Nipper in its Group Battle, with Dave Moulds expressing scepticism towards the newly-legalised entanglement weapons used by the former.

Angela Scanlon: "So you've never fought against an entanglement weapon?"
Dave Moulds: "No, they've always been banned up until this year... I think they've brought it in because of how we acted last year."
Angela Scanlon: "So you guys were too good?"
Dave Moulds: "Yeah."
Angela Scanlon: "And how are you going to battle against it?"
Dave Moulds: "We'll still smash them up."
— Dave Moulds responds to the revised entanglement weapon rules
Gabriel vs carbide 3

Carbide sends Gabriel 2 hurtling violently towards the wall

Carbide began the battle tentatively, weaving and driving towards Gabriel 2, although without initially hitting the latter. It eventually hit the ropes dangling from underneath Gabriel 2, shredding and scattering them across the arena while dislodging a few of its tyre segments. The two competitors retreated before colliding into each other, with Carbide withstanding a blow from Gabriel 2's mace as it churned into one of its wheels; this resulted in it throwing Gabriel 2 off-balance and sending it spinning into Shunt's CPZ. Carbide spun round as it attempted to line up another attack, before ripping another of Gabriel 2's tyre sections away and clipping the end of its mace.

"This is building up to be some struggle for the reigning champions, they haven't had to work quite like this so early on..."
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide struggles to cause terminal damage to Gabriel 2's wheels
Carbide dodgy tyre

Carbide struggles to drive on its broken tyre

Carbide vs gabriel 2

Carbide throws itself and Gabriel 2 over

It temporarily avoided the action as Gabriel 2 was thrown into the Arena Tyre by a partially-immobile Big Nipper, but inadvertently backed into Shunt, who rammed and axed Carbide simultaneously as 'Rogue House Robot' mode was enabled. Needless to say, Carbide slammed into Gabriel 2 several more times, constantly damaging its opponent's wheels and mace while sending it hurtling across the arena and into the wall. As it continued attacking Gabriel 2, Carbide drove and spun round near the arena spikes – at this moment, its right-hand tyre fell apart, momentarily leaving it unable to drive in a straight line as it was lifted off the floor by the broken tyre segment. After spinning itself free, Carbide charged into Gabriel 2 once again, the impact flipping Carbide completely over and knocking Gabriel 2 off-balance.

"Underneath Carbide, something is stuck there, something has come off. It's part of the tyre, of Carbide, so Gabriel 2 has created damage – and flips Carbide over!"
— Jonathan Pearce spots the damage to Carbide's tyre as it attacks Gabriel 2 again

Inverted, Carbide spun itself into Shunt's CPZ, and violently ricocheted over the Flame Pit after clipping the House Robot's scoop. As it struggled for mobility, it turned towards an approaching Gabriel 2, hitting its wheel and launching itself into the air. Spinning, it sustained an axe blow from Shunt, before driving into Gabriel 2's mace once again and retreating into an empty CPZ.

"Carbide have never had to work anything like this! This is sensational stuff – this is the 91st Wonder of the World!"
— Jonathan Pearce as an inverted Carbide sustains an attack from Shunt
Gabriel vs carbide 2

Carbide spins after hitting Gabriel 2's mace

Carbide vs gabriel 3

Carbide shreds one of Gabriel 2's wheels while withstanding a blow from the latter's mace

Carbide again launched Gabriel 2 off the floor as the latter briefly drove into Shunt, the impact sending more pieces of tyre and HDPE flying. Another succession of hits tore through Gabriel 2's wheels and sent it spinning into Shunt's CPZ, with Carbide flipping Gabriel 2 twice more after hitting its mace and wheel again. Carbide pursued Gabriel 2 across the arena as the latter struggled for traction on its damaged wheels, before throwing it sideways.

"Who's going to brush up the arena floor? Six, five – this is going to the Judges, is it? This is unbelievable! This is one of the greatest fights ever, in Robot Wars history!"
— Jonathan Pearce as the Group Battle draws to a close
Carbide vs big nipper

Carbide clips the immobile Big Nipper

Carbide also clipped the side of Big Nipper, having not needed to interact with the immobile machine for the entire match, and hit Gabriel 2 one more time as the klaxon sounded, shards of HDPE flying as 'cease' was called. Team Carbide and Team Saint immediately congratulated each other as the battle went to a Judges’ decision, which ultimately went in Carbide's favour.

Dave Moulds: "I can't speak for Craig [Colliass], but that's probably the best fight we've ever had."
Angela Scanlon: "Really?"
Dave Moulds: "Oh, by miles, yeah. That was awesome."
— Dave Moulds following the Group Battle

With this, it automatically progressed to the Heat Semi-Finals. Further inspections in The Pits, however, revealed that Carbide had not only sustained a damaged tyre, but also burnt its batteries out as a result of fighting the full duration. This lead to concerns that Carbide would be forced to withdraw from Series 10 entirely. Nevertheless, replacement batteries were delivered and installed in time for its Semi-Final, a rematch against Series 9 fourth-place finisher Aftershock. For this battle, the Team Shock machine had been equipped with a new asymmetrical bar spinner specially designed to defeat Carbide.

"I think Sam and Dave will have to work harder this year, we know that, to keep ahead of the pack. Can they handle the pressure?"
— Jonathan Pearce ahead of Carbide's duel with Aftershock
Aftershock vs Carbide S10 1

Carbide weathers a side-on attack from Aftershock

Aftershock vs Carbide S10 2

Aftershock targets Carbide's rear wedge

Aftershock vs Carbide S10 3

Carbide is sent airborne following a head-on collision with Aftershock

Immediately, Carbide attempted to drive around the side of Aftershock, with both robots hitting each other's sides with their spinning weapons. Spinning, it withstood three successive blows from Aftershock, sustaining damage to its chassis and causing Aftershock to flip itself over. As Aftershock self-righted, Carbide slammed into its asymmetrical bar, sending sparks flying and leaving Aftershock immobile on one side. It proceeded to slice through Aftershock's front again, but was thrown aside by Aftershock almost immediately. Undeterred, Carbide hit Aftershock's front again, only to be spun round by the impact and exposing its rear wedge to an attack from Aftershock. Carbide drove forwards, turned and charged into Aftershock once more, the collision launching it into the air and disabling Aftershock’s spinner.

"The champions here, are up against it... huge impact between both machines!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide is sent airborne by a head-on collision with Aftershock's asymmetrical bar

Landing upright, Carbide landed another blow on Aftershock, sending the latter spinning onto the closed pit. Seconds later, it immobilised Aftershock completely, and drove around the arena as its victory was made certain.

After extensive repairs to its weapon motor and armour, as well as the replacement of its weapon switch, Carbide faced Eruption in the Heat Final, a rematch of the previous series' Grand Final, much like Carbide's Heat Final against Apollo in the previous series.

Eruption vs Carbide S10

Carbide hits Eruption amidst a shower of sparks

Carbide vs Eruption S10

Carbide rips Eruption's side panel off

At the start, it dodged Eruption's initial charge, and sent it spinning away as the latter got underneath and pushed it across the arena. This impact immediately immobilised Eruption on one side, allowing Carbide to repeatedly drive into Eruption and damage its flipper, wedge and left-hand side panel. With Dave Moulds realising that a side-on attack would leave Carbide vulnerable to getting thrown out of the arena, it powered its spinner down and retreated to the centre of the arena. A few seconds later, Carbide spun its weapon back up again, and drove into Eruption's left side, cleaving the panel completely off. With Eruption fully immobilised, Carbide retreated again, drove around the arena and spun on the spot as its opponent was counted out. This victory ensured that Carbide progressed to the Grand Final for its third consecutive series.

Dara Ó Briain: "It feels like I've had this conversation with you a number of times recently, about congratulating you. You got the blow in early, which was what you needed to do."
Dave Moulds: "Yes, performs well considering all the beating that we took before that."
— Dara Ó Briain and Dave Moulds reflect on Carbide's third Heat Final victory

In the Grand Final, Carbide faced Behemoth and Nuts 2 in its Group Battle; both of which it had previously won against in Series 8. To combat Carbide, Behemoth had been outfitted with its anti-spinner bucket, a modification made after losing to Carbide twice in Series 8.

Behemoth vs carbide vs nuts 2

Carbide tries to damage Behemoth's plough while the latter pushes it around the arena

Behemoth pitted

An impact from Carbide's bar causes Behemoth (foreground) to recoil into the pit

Carbide began by turning round and attempting to avoid Behemoth, but was pushed around and into Sir Killalot by the latter while simultaneously damaging its angled plough. Carbide drove away, tearing the side of one of Nuts 2’s minibots off and sending Behemoth spinning with its next attack. It drove into Behemoth’s plough again and hit its side while being pushed into a CPZ, causing both robots to recoil and Behemoth to career into the descending pit. With Behemoth eliminated, Carbide drove into the spinning Nuts 2, its bar spinner slowing down due to the bushings in the weapon seizing up.[9] The impact with Nuts 2’s chain flails broke the drive chain for its spinner, disabling it completely, with Carbide attempting to push Nuts 2 back towards the Floor Flipper in response.

"…they’ve got nothing, really, now, to use against Nuts 2, apart from the ability to push – and Nuts 2, as you can see, a very, very difficult machine to get close to… to push! You get close to Nuts 2, and you’re gonna be destroyed!"
— Jonathan Pearce as the weaponless Carbide attempts to push Nuts 2 and its minibot
Nuts 2 vs Carbide

Carbide's weapon chain is severed by Nuts 2

Minibot vs Carbide

Carbide narrowly avoids being counted out

Withstanding numerous blows from Nuts 2’s flails, Carbide continued reversing into its remaining opponent, but was blocked by Nuts 2’s remaining minibot, and pressed the Arena Tyre while evading the minibot. This triggered ‘Rogue House Robot’, with Carbide dodging Sir Killalot and reversing across the arena before Nuts 2 triggered ‘Fog of War’. It reversed into Nuts 2’s minibot, and was lifted off the arena floor after backing into the latter. With its wheels spinning, but not gripping the floor, Carbide was rendered immobile, and was almost counted out by the Judges. However, it spun free from the minibot with one second to spare, and resumed its pushing match with the Nuts 2 minibot.

"Sam and Dave look resigned – they’re immobilised, I think! The Judges are ready to count them down and out… Carbide has one wheel spinning, but not the other! They need to move! They’re being counted down – oh goodness me, how did they survive that?!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide is almost counted out
Nuts vs Carbide

Carbide sustains further damage from Nuts 2

After luring the minibot around the arena, Carbide reversed into Nuts 2 several more times, sustaining more damage to its armour, before continuing to dodge the minibot. With its left tyre damaged, it spun round in the middle of the arena until ‘cease’ was called, with the battle going to a Judges’ decision while Team Carbide and Team Nuts congratulated each other. The decision unanimously went in favour of Nuts 2, marking Carbide’s first loss since the Series 8 Grand Final.

"What an upset this is! I have never seen Carbide in this particular predicament… what a performance by Nuts!"
— Jonathan Pearce at the end of the Group Battle

With its title defence severely compromised, Carbide was consigned to the Robot Redemption round, where it faced Rapid for a chance to remain in contention for a Semi-Final place.

Rapid Carbide 1

Carbide is thrown towards the wall by Rapid

Carbide vs Rapid

Sparks fly as Carbide hits Rapid's side

Immediately, it tried to evade Rapid, but was scooped up and pushed into Shunt’s CPZ, sparks flying as its bar spinner hit the floor and the wall. Carbide drove away, slamming into Rapid’s side and tearing off the remainder of its entanglement device. It drove head-on into Rapid, only for Rapid to scoop it up again and throw it towards an entry gate. Carbide’s bar clipped the floor as it landed, causing it to bounce and be flipped over. Spinning over the Floor Flipper, Carbide drove head-on into Rapid again, tearing one of its side panels clean off, before driving up Rapid’s flipper again. In the process, it hit the side of Rapid’s flipper, causing both robots to recoil - the bar sheared through Rapid's centre bulkhead and pierced its batteries[10], resulting in it beginning to smoke copiously. Carbide pursued Rapid through its smokescreen, before immobilising it with another violent hit.

"It’s the old Carbide back with us, though. Mean and merciless… they love their weaponry! Again – oh, please stop, and he’s had enough. Our message to you, Rapid – you’re fired!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide’s place in the Semi-Finals is secured
Rapid Carbide 2

Carbide emerges victorious after immobilising and causing Rapid's electrical fire

As Rapid sat motionless on the closed pit, Carbide continued to damage its opponent’s front and sides until ‘cease’ was called; it spun round in celebration shortly before Rapid caught fire as a result of its earlier attack.

"Got any marshmallows?"
— Dave Moulds as Rapid catches fire following Carbide’s victory
Nut Guards

Carbide's Nut Guard

In the Semi-Finals, Carbide faced Nuts 2 again. To avoid a repeat of their earlier Group Battle, Team Carbide fitted a ‘Nut guard’ to the front of its weapon shaft – in actuality a piece of metal donated by the Rapid team - in order to prevent Nuts 2’s flails from hitting the drive chain for its bar spinner.

Nut Guards vs Nuts 2

Carbide's Nut guards serve their purpose

Upon ‘activate’, Carbide drove straight into Nuts 2, causing sparks to fly as its bar spinner hit the latter’s flails. It tore into the side of Nuts 2’s blue minibot before again slamming into Nuts 2 itself; seconds later, Carbide tore part of Nuts 2’s ring off, leaving one of its opponent’s wheels fully exposed.

"Carbide came in with huge power, and its Nuts 2 sustaining damage!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide removes one of Nuts 2’s flails
Carbide vs Nuts 2

Carbide disables Nuts 2

Carbide slammed head-on into Nuts 2 again, and waited in the centre of the arena as one of Nuts 2’s minibots activated the ‘Fog of War’. Once the fog cleared, it tore one of Nuts 2’s end panels off, leaving it immobile on one side and unable to drive out of the CPZ. With Team Nuts conceding defeat, Nuts 2 was counted out; Carbide tore the side and left wheel of its red minibot off just before ‘cease’ was called.

"Carbide, through to the final! Reputation restored for the champions."
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide progresses to its third-consecutive final

In the Grand Final, Carbide faced Eruption; the fourth time in which both machines faced each other, and in a direct rematch of the previous series final.

Carbide vs Eruption Final

Carbide causes early damage

Eruption Carbide official photo

Carbide is flipped over by Eruption for the first time

Immediately, it avoided Eruption, hitting its right side and flipper in rapid succession as the latter attempted to drive behind and get underneath it. Carbide continued hitting Eruption’s flipper and front panels, sparks flying with every impact, before eventually sending Eruption spinning towards Sir Killalot’s CPZ. The two competitors drove head-on into each other, with Carbide deflecting itself off Eruption as its bar spinner slowed down with each successive hit. Carbide spun round as Eruption tried to push it back, before luring Eruption around the arena, turning and hitting its flipper again. The recoil caused Carbide’s spinner to hit the floor; smoke poured from Carbide as it was launched into the air.

"Oh! Another big hit from Carbide’s… big bar spinner. Heavy, weighty… devilish! Is the flipper of Eruption still working? I’m not too sure."
— Jonathan Pearce just before Carbide encounters problems with its bar spinner

Again, the two robots collided head-on, with Eruption throwing Carbide a full 360 degrees as its bar spinner struggled to cleave through its opponent’s front. Another head-on collision ensued, with Carbide nearly flipping itself over and smoking a second time as it drove into Eruption once more. This exposed it to another flip from Eruption, this time leaving it upside-down; it soon became apparent that Carbide’s spinner had stopped rotating.

Dave Moulds: "Are we dead? Weapon dead?"
Sam Smith: "Erm…"
— Team Carbide notice Carbide’s weapon issues
Carbide vs Eruption Finale

Carbide rips a decal from Eruption

Eruption vs Carbide Final

Carbide is flipped again

Seemingly weaponless, Carbide was pushed over the Flame Pit into Sir Killalot’s CPZ by Eruption, but escaped the House Robot and fired its spinner up again. It cleaved one of Eruption’s decorative horns off before hitting its flipper once more and spinning into the Arena Tyre. ‘Fog of War’ was activated, enabling Carbide to avoid Eruption and get its weapon spinning again just before driving up its opponent’s flipper. Sparks flew as Carbide hit Eruption while being pushed into Sir Killalot; however, after hitting Eruption’s side one more time, it drove itself onto the Floor Flipper, landing spinner-first on the floor and allowing Eruption to throw it towards the Flame Pit.

"This is the stuff of Robot Wars dream here. Carbide and Eruption – what a final!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide hits Eruption after being flipped

Carbide dodged Sir Killalot and hit Eruption’s front several more times; each successive impact once again caused the bar spinner to slow down. The spinner stopped completely as it drove head-on into Eruption yet again, with Eruption throwing Carbide over upside-down before shepherding it over the closed pit. Carbide drove away and hit Eruption, but without causing major damage, and was thrown over once more before luring Eruption around the arena.

"All the way to the Judges, at the end of the Final, of the Grand Final? Whoa! You couldn’t have made it up!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Carbide finishes the Grand Final on the back foot
Eruption entertains

Carbide loses sight of the lead

Eruption flips Carbide

Carbide is thrown around the arena

In spite of this, Carbide was continuously flipped and chased around the arena by Eruption in the closing moments; at one point getting thrown over by the Floor Flipper again. ‘Cease’ was finally called, with Carbide spinning round and both teams congratulating each other as the Final went to a Judges’ decision. Unseen on the televised broadcast, Carbide continued driving around the arena for some time after, the control switch for its spinner sticking 'on' due to internal damage. It was eventually pinned against the wall by Sir Killalot, in order for a member of the Robot Wars crew to remove its link.[11]

Carbide End of Series

Carbide after its final Robot Wars battle

Before the winner of the battle and the Series 10 champion was announced, Team Carbide told Dara Ó Briain their intention to possibly retire Carbide, as a result of the damage sustained throughout the series. After an exceptionally close battle which was particularly praised by Jonathan Pearce, Angela Scanlon and Dara Ó Briain, the Judges' decision went unanimously in favour of Eruption. With this, Carbide emerged as the runner-up of Series 10, its second time finishing as a runner-up in Robot Wars.

Dara Ó Briain: "I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as exhausted, both of you. I mean, this has taken a lot out of you and Carbide."
Dave Moulds: "Yeah, it’s probably time for a new one, isn’t it?"
Sam Smith: "Yeah. It’s had a lot of replaced parts, um… we’ve never had an event like this where we’ve had to work so hard to keep it going."
— Team Carbide discuss Carbide’s potential retirement

Results[]

CARBIDE - RESULTS
Series 8
Series 8 - UK Championship
Runner-up
Heat A, Group Battle vs. Behemoth, Bonk, The General Qualified
Heat A, Head-to-Heads vs. Terrorhurtz Lost (0 points)
Heat A, Head-to-Heads vs. Nuts Won via KO (3 points)
Heat A, Head-to-Heads vs. Behemoth Won via KO (3 points)
Heat A, Heat Final vs. Behemoth Won
Grand Final, Group Battle vs. Apollo, Shockwave Qualified
Grand Final, Head-to-Heads vs. Thor Won via KO (3 points)
Grand Final, Head-to-Heads vs. Apollo Won via KO (3 points)
Grand Final, Head-to-Heads vs. TR2 Lost (0 points)
Grand Final vs. Apollo Lost
Series 9
Series 9 - UK Championship
Champion
Heat E, Group Battle vs. Crackers 'n' Smash, Meggamouse, Trolley Rage Qualified
Heat E, Head-to-Heads vs. Apollo Won via KO (3 points)
Heat E, Head-to-Heads vs. Crackers 'n' Smash Won via mid-match forfeit (3 points)
Heat E, Group Battle vs. Coyote Won via KO (3 points)
Heat E, Heat Final vs. Apollo Won
Grand Final, Group Battle vs. Concussion, Ironside3 Qualified
Grand Final, Head-to-Heads vs. Aftershock Won via KO (3 points)
Grand Final, Head-to-Heads vs. Eruption Won via KO (3 points)
Grand Final, Head-to-Heads vs. Ironside3 Won via KO (3 points)
Grand Final vs. Eruption Won
Series 10
Series 10 - UK Championship
Runner-up
Heat B, Group Battle vs. Big Nipper, Gabriel 2 Won
Heat B, Semi-Final vs. Aftershock Won
Heat B, Heat Final vs. Eruption Won
Grand Final, Group Battle vs. Behemoth, Nuts 2 Lost
Grand Final, Robot Redemption vs. Rapid Won
Grand Final, Semi-Finals vs. Nuts 2 Won
Grand Final vs. Eruption Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 22
  • Losses: 5

Series Record[]

Main Series Carbide Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Did not enter
The Third Wars Did not enter
The Fourth Wars Entered with Tiberius
The Fifth Wars Entered with Tiberius 2
The Sixth Wars Entered with Tiberius 3
The Seventh Wars Entered with Tiberius 3
Series 8 Runner-up
Series 9 Grand Champion
Series 10 Runner-up
Robot Wars Extreme Appearances
Series 1 Did not enter
Series 2 Entered with Tiberius 3

Gallery[]

Outside Robot Wars[]

Carbide 2018

Carbide on display at Extreme Robots in September 2018

Carbide and Tornado

Carbide and Tornado at Robonerd in 2019

In between its appearances in Series 8 and 9, Carbide attended the Robots Live! event in Stevenage as a static display. Upon the BBC's decision not to renew the Robot Wars reboot in March 2018, it was retired from combat. Though Extreme Robots events had reintroduced spinning weapons by this time, Team Carbide declined to compete with it in these, as they believed that it would not be competitive enough with it own bar spinner running at the reduced 125mph tip speed.

"The problem is Carbides blade is designed to run at 248mph tip speed, we’d have to half that somehow and I think after doing so it’d make the robot seem pretty useless- it’d be a shame to have it held back so much, however Tungsten might be ok to run at Jonnos shows."
— Dave Moulds on Facebook

Nevertheless, it was stated by the team on Twitter that Carbide was being rebuilt for "when/if Robot Wars finds a new home".[12] Dave Moulds further substantiated their claims during a 2020 RoboNerd interview, confirming that it been stripped down prior to the show's cancellation and would have received further upgrades to improve weapon reliability.[13] A February 2023 Reddit comment elaborated more on some of the planned changes, including a switch from bushes to bearings and an LEM-200 motor for the weapon system. Optional rear wedgelets, described as being inspired by US Robot Wars and BattleBots competitor Tazbot, were also to be featured in the updated design. Moulds concluded in the latter post that Carbide had otherwise reached 'close to its optimal state' in Series 10.[14]

Carbide itself would continue to appear at live events as a static display, including the 2018 Extreme Robots Colchester event. It would also make recurring public appearances at RoboNerd events, attending the 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions with its Series 9 championship trophy. In the latter two appearances, Carbide was fitted with its unused red bar, also accommodated by the vertical disc of Cobalt, and, in the 2023 edition, by Dave Moulds' earlier featherweight spinner 360.

In May 2017, a top armour panel from Carbide was listed on eBay. The item - signed by team members Dave Moulds and Sam Smith - sold for a final price of £340.

For more information on Team Carbide's achievements outside of Robot Wars, including their BattleBots entry Cobalt and their This is Fighting Robots entry Tungsten, see here.

Trivia[]

Team Carbide Dara Angela trophy

Team Carbide pose with the trophy in a promotional shot involving Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon

  • Team Carbide were invited to captain the UK team during the second episode of Robot Wars: World Series, but voluntarily gave their position to Eruption after the Series 10 champion was decided[15].
  • Carbide shared a much-publicised rivalry with Apollo during Series 9, with the Series 8 Grand Final rematch dominating the marketing for the show. Apollo and Carbide are one of four occurrences where two teams fought five times during the show's run, alongside Razer and Tornado, Firestorm and Panic Attack, and Ironside3 and Pulsar.
  • Carbide is the only robot to fight two robots (Behemoth and Apollo) a total of three times within a single series.
  • 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.
    • Carbide is also the only robot to score the full 9 points twice in the Head-to-Head rounds.
    • In Series 9, Carbide scored an unbeaten record of ten victories in a single series.
  • Carbide has the second highest KO ratios in Robot Wars, winning 21 of its 22 victories via knockout. Its only judges' decision victory was against Gabriel 2.
    • Contrarily, Carbide was only defeated by knockout on one occasion (Terrorhurtz), with all of its remaining losses being via the judges.
  • Carbide was one of three UK champions to win its title by knockout, the others being Panic Attack and Chaos 2.
    • Carbide is also one of three UK champions to win all of its fights in its championship-winning series by knockout, alongside Panic Attack and Chaos 2.
  • Carbide is one of nine robots to win more than twenty battles in UK Robot Wars. The others to achieve this feat are Chaos 2, Razer, Firestorm, Tornado, Pussycat, Panic Attack, Behemoth, and Hypno-Disc.
    • Carbide is also the only robot that debuted in the reboot to achieve this feat.
  • Carbide defeated all five finalists from Series 9 by knockout at least once during the course of the series.
  • Carbide and Roadblock are the only UK champions to enter more than one series and never fail to reach the Grand Final.
    • Carbide is the second UK Runner-up (after Hypno-Disc) to reach a subsequent Grand Final, and one of only two runners-up to later reach and win the final itself, the other being Eruption.
    • Carbide is also one of three robots (alongside Tornado and Eruption) to have become champion after defeating the then-reigning champion and the only one of the three to have done this prior to the Grand Final.
  • Carbide is one of three robots to have reached the Grand Final three times - the other two are Hypno-Disc and Firestorm.
    • It and Hypno-Disc are the only robots to have reached three consecutive Grand Finals, with Carbide achieving this feat in Series 8-10.
      • Both Carbide and Hypno-Disc also finished runner-up in their debut series.
    • Carbide is also the only Robot Wars heavyweight competitor to finish as runner-up twice.
    • Carbide is the only robot to have reached the final two on three occasions, consecutively and in total.
  • Carbide is the only robot to have won its heat in all three series of the rebooted Robot Wars.
  • Carbide is one of six robots to regain mobility during a countdown. Carbide is the only reboot competitor to do this.
  • After its final battle with Eruption in Series 10, Carbide's blade could not be manually spun down, and Sir Killalot was required to pin it against the wall, while a crewmember pulled its removable link out.[16]
  • Carbide was the only grand champion from the reboot not to appear in the World Series.
    • Despite this, Carbide made a cameo appearance in the World Series, with its Grand Final Group Battle being used as an example of smaller robots in the championship, after Carbide was chased by a Nuts 2 minibot.
  • In August 2018, HEXBUG revealed that Carbide was in consideration to be made into a RC toy, alongside Apollo and Eruption, allowing Twitter users to vote on which toy they wanted to see the most[17]. Carbide won the poll with 49% of the total votes.
  • In August 2017, Carbide was inducted into the The Combat Robot Hall of Fame, due to its successful runs in Series 8 and 9.[18]
  • Carbide and Tornado are the only UK Champions not to participate in a fight with at least five other robots (both Eruption and Apollo featured in the 10 Robot Rumble, and all other champions featured in an Annihilator or the Series 1 Grand Final).
  • In a 2020 RoboNerd interview by Caley Creations, Carbide was among the competitor machines praised by James Cooper, who highlighted a variety of 'performance' and design-focused entries from the Revival run.[19]

Honours[]


References[]

"It couldn't be used due to an event that happened during the Tech Check process, or a small design oversight. The weapon shaft on Carbide in series 8 & 9 was Titanium. They tried to fit a more aggressive and heavier bar for series 10. Not wanting to compromise the armour or drive they swapped the weapon shaft to Aluminium to save the couple of KG required to augment the bar. However, during its first spin up test, the Aluminium core began to expand due to heat in the bearings/bushings, which caused it to expend further ultimately making expand to the point the whole weapon assembly seized up solid. With only one set of bushings for the weapon assembly, they had to cut/Dremel free the bushing from the now useless aluminium core and return to the original bar and titanium core."
Alex Botwright explains why the red bar spinner went unused in Series 10

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