MouseTrap: Difference between revisions

==Design==

{{quote|Like some horrific mutation from a "Tom & Jerry" cartoon...|[[Philippa Forrester]] describes Mousetrap in Series 5}}

It was a wedge-shaped replica of a spring mousetrap, with the trap itself being the weapon. The original Mousetrap travelled at 11.2mph and was made from steel and lexan, scrapyard debris and an old office desk with polycarbonate side armour and was fitted with an 9.6kg mousetrap weapon made from 10mm high-tensile scrapyard steel. The armour was 5 mm polycarbonate (lexan) with wood effect sticky back plastic, whilst the chassis was 25x25 mm steel box section, and the robot was powered by 5 6 volt Yuasa 12Ah batteries.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010918120114/http://www.jasonlaunchbury.com:80/teammousetrap/mousetrap_2000/specs.html]</ref> This weapon was powered by a Chubb fire extinguisher supplying CO₂ at 1000 psi, driving a pair of hydraulic rams, and was said to travel at 100mph. It could fire 42 times per battle, and was designed for clamping robots and pushing them into the pit.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010919035919/http://www.jasonlaunchbury.com:80/teammousetrap/mousetrap_2000/weapon.html]</ref> Mousetrap progressed through its heat, but lost a drive chain and was immobilised against [[Stinger]] in the Semi-Finals.

{{quote|26lb bar of solid high-tensile steel, driven by hydraulic rams vented at 1000lb per sq in - this snaps down with the sound of a shotgun blast and could break a man's arm in the time it takes to blink. The crowd gasps each time they set it off.|Sunday Times Culture Magazine, September 2000<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20011025093509/http://www.jasonlaunchbury.com:80/teammousetrap/mousetrap_2001/mousetrap.html]</ref>}}