Apex (Team Danby)

* BattleBots Proving Ground
* BattleBots World Championship VII
* WhamMow!
* UK Robot Wars Series 10
* UK Robot Wars Series 9
* 2016
* TX-109

* BattleBots Proving Ground
* UK Robot Wars Series 10
* UK Robot Wars Series 9

## Overview

"*New and untested robot Apex is pushing spinner size to the limit with their huge hammer bar!*"
— Dara Ó Briain
**Apex** was a heavyweight robot built by Team Terrafonics, which competed in Series 9-10 of *Robot Wars*. In its debut appearance, Apex was immobilised by a knockout blow from Pulsar during its Series 9 Group Battle. In Series 10, it lost its Group Battle to Terrorhurtz, before spectacularly disassembling itself against Track-Tion in the Robot Redemption stage.

Apex was the distant successor to TX-108 and was originally built with a similar hydraulic crushing claw under the name **TX-109**.

After sporadic appearances at live events, Apex, under its original *BattleBots* name **WhamMow!**, applied for World Championship V along with SlamMow!. However, WhamMow! was not selected to compete and Team Danby fought with just the one robot.

With Mowbot no longer sponsoring the team, WhamMow!'s future was uncertain due to limited funds within the team. As such, Team Danby only applied for and competed in World Championship VI with SlamMow!, now renamed **Slammo!**.

"*We were kinda in flux about whether or not to enter WhamMow when Mowbot didn't renew their sponsorship became clear we wouldn't have enough funds to build Slammo and WhamMow so we decided to just go with Slammo.*"
— Craig Danby in September 2021.
Work on a brand new build commenced in late 2021, with Craig Danby posting regular updates in early 2022. Now returning to its original name Apex, the robot features three large omniwheels to allow for it to strafe in multiple directions as well as translate in a more traditional method. It is armed with the same 60lb spinning bar measuring over 4ft in length. According to the team, a heavier 77lb bar is also available. In March 2022, Craig Danby posted a drive test featuring Apex's omniwheels and confirmed their application the following month.

## Design

"*Apex is the biggest bar spinner ever to compete in Robot Wars!*"
— Craig Danby
Apex was a two-wheel drive robot defined by its 1.2m horizontal spinning bars, each painted gold throughout its appearances. The robot's HARDOX chassis (with armour panels varying in thickness between 4 and 10mm) somewhat resembled an inverted 'Y' shape when viewed from the front section, itself fitted with two spiked extensions on either side. With its 37kg bar spinning at up to 1,850rpm (also quoted as 1,750rpm in official publications), Apex had the potential to inflict significant damage to opponents, while the robot itself also a high top speed of 18mph. The weapon could enable Apex to self-right by spinning the robot's body in place until centrifugal forces turned it back over. However, the bar spinner was untested before entering the arena in Series 9; as such, it was discovered during combat that Apex's spinner initially took a comparatively long time to reach its maximum rotational speed.

"*Apex's weapon is a 1,200mm long, 1in thick hardened steel bar spinning at 1,750rpm and using a motor at 58.8V. It has a top speed of 242mph.*"
— *Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot* on the Series 9 version of Apex
While Apex was painted maroon and gold in Series 9, the main chassis was repainted blue colour for Series 10, and its weapon spin-up time was improved. Alongside the existing symmetrical bar, now weighing 39.75kg, Team Terrafonics also created a new 38.45kg asymmetric spinner. Though lighter than the symmetrical bar, the latter (modelled on a *Warhammer* map) could deliver a variable damage output depending on which end connected with opponents. Both spinners were interchangeable, alongside a third unseen bar mentioned in *Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot*.

Upon entry into Series 10, Apex was planned to compete as a shufflebot, arriving at the studio with a legged mechanism. Confirming Team Terrafonics' intentions were references to the 'shuffler' system on the official *Robot Wars* website as well as publications such as *Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot*. However, one side of the shuffling drive failed in the test arena, forcing the team to revert Apex back to its two-wheel setup before filming. Had Apex been granted the weight bonus through its intended shufflebot configuration, it would have fought alongside featherweight minibots which were kept under the robot's pit bench.

"*Apex is a shuffler robot that moves using a system made of 14 legs. It also has three interchangeable bar weapons...*"
— *Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot* on Apex's planned design for Series 10, also alluding to a third interchangeable bar spinner
## Robot History

### Live Events

    After TX-108 had regularly participated in Roaming Robots events, TX-109 competed at its first official Robot Wars live event at Newport in 2014. TX-109 continued to take part under the new name of Apex, including an appearance at Barnsley in 2015, though did not find major success.

Apex fought at the Robot Wars World Championships held at Colchester in 2015, where in the first round, it was drawn against Manta,DTK and Titan. DTK was quickly thrown out of the arena by Manta, at which point, Apex broke down. With Manta and Titan both mobile, it seemed as though Apex would be eliminated – however, it was saved by a stroke of luck when Manta threw Titan out of the arena before Apex could be officially deemed immobile. In the second round, Apex faced Thunderchild and Nuts. Thunderchild's flipper was broken, and so could not self-right when turned over by the floor flipper, leaving Apex to fight Nuts alone. However, Nuts was too tall and slippery for Apex to grab properly, and so Apex lost the Judges’ decision. Apex was given a second chance in a losers’ melee against Cherub, but Apex broke down again, leaving it to be turned over by Cherub's lifting prongs.

Apex was converted into a bar spinner in 2016, and fought at the Robot Wars Live Tour in 2016, which was at Portsmouth, but due to safety regulations, could only run its bar spinner at 100RPM. Apex's speed controller burnt out during a battle with Behemoth.

For the Colchester event, held in September of the same year,the 2016 Apex was rebuilt as Big Panda Hatchet, after the series of featherweights under the name of Hatchet.

### UK Robot Wars Series 9

**Angela Scanlon**: "*What weight is it?*"
**Chris Danby**: "*The whole rotating mass, pulley, bar everything, so you're looking at about 37kg.*"
**Angela Scanlon**: "*I mean, to put that in perspective, Carbide's is 25kg, right?*"
— The interview on Apex's bar spinner
Apex first competed in Heat D of Series 9, where it replaced the last-minute withdrawal PacifieR. It was drawn into a difficult Group Battle, facing Classic Series veteran, Crushtacean, a fellow bar spinner in Ironside3, and Grand Finalist from Series 8, Pulsar. However, Apex started the battle at a disadvantage, as a communication error led Team Terrafonics and Team Crushtacean to believe that the '3, 2, 1, Activate' signal was a test for the audience, when in fact it signalled the beginning of the battle.

"*This could be all about the weight and power of Apex's huge bar, or that drum of Pulsar.*"
— Jonathan Pearce
Apex initially hesitated to get involved as a result of this error, and began spinning its weapon up to speed as its opponents attacked and drove around the arena, with Crushtacean already immobilised at this stage. Eventually, Pulsar's drum hit Apex's spinner, sending Apex spinning violently into the air and causing it to land hard on the arena floor. The attack damaged the bearings and motors for both Apex's drive and weapon, immobilising it instantly, with Apex eventually being counted out and eliminated from Series 9 along with Crushtacean.

"*I didn't take into account the force of the spinner weapon so when it hit Pulsar the motor pretty much separated. It was just very, very fragile.*"
— Chris Danby
### UK Robot Wars Series 10

"*Apex represents about three thousand hours of work. If Apex gets destroyed, it would be just the worst feeling in the world.*"
— Craig Danby
Apex returned in Heat C of Series 10. For its Group Battle – against original series Grand Finalist Terrorhurtz and series newcomer Vulture – Team Terrafonics fitted its new asymmetrical bar spinner for the first time. The team had earlier encountered problems with Apex in testing (see Design), resulting in them also replacing its shuffling mechanism with its original two-wheel drive system prior to the battle.

**Angela Scanlon**: "*That looks like one whopper of a spinner!*"
**Craig Danby**: "*Yeah, this is the little one!*"
— Craig Danby on Apex's new asymmetric spinner
Unmentioned on the televised broadcast, Apex’s Group Battle was fought twice. In the first attempt, Apex was rammed by Terrorhurtz almost immediately, sparks flying as it was sent gyrating towards the wall. Apex’s spinner broke a panel off the wall upon impact, stopping the battle after just four seconds had elapsed. This hit caused Apex's bar to flex and hit the pulley. Repairs were carried out to the arena, and the battle was restarted.

"*The pressure is massively on. We’ll either go down in a blaze of glory, or it’ll win everything!*"
— Craig Danby prior to the Group Battle
At the start of the second battle, Apex spun round in circles as it tried to get its bar spinner up to speed. However, it was swiftly rammed by Terrorhurtz, the impact causing the top shaft collar and belt of Apex’s spinner to detach and the weapon to be disabled. Apex and Vulture were simultaneously pushed back by Terrorhurtz, with the former sustaining two axe blows from Terrorhurtz as Vulture broke free.

"*…and they’re locked together, in a dance of doom!*"
— Jonathan Pearce as Apex sustains axe blows from Terrorhurtz in the televised Group Battle
After being pushed into an empty CPZ, Apex drove away from Terrorhurtz and was collected by Vulture, but sustained no damage from the newcomer’s overhead bar spinner as it turned round and backed away. As its opponents fought on, Apex pressed the Arena Tyre, triggering ‘Fog of War’ mode and interfering with the vision of Team Immersion. It continued to avoid the action until it drove into Vulture and was spun around following a shove from Terrorhurtz. After several seconds avoiding each of its opponents, Apex backed into Terrorhurtz and Vulture, the three robots becoming wedged together over the Flame Pit as a result, to laughter from Team Terrafonics. Shunt prised the competitors apart, before Apex got underneath and briefly pushed Terrorhurtz. Apex attempted to push Terrorhurtz again, only to drive itself up Vulture’s wedge and expose itself to another succession of blows from the former’s axe. After being left in a CPZ, Apex met Terrorhurtz again, smoke pouring from it as it was being pushed and axed by the Team Hurtz machine. Apex lured Terrorhurtz across the arena, dodging another blow as Terrorhurtz threw itself forwards and into Shunt. Another push from Terrorhurtz immobilised Apex near the arena spikes, where it was left to be counted out.

"*Apex now stilled… and then there was one.*"
— Jonathan Pearce as Apex stands immobile and smoking
With this, Apex was consigned to the Robot Redemption round, where it fought Track-tion for a chance to progress to the Heat Semi-Finals. Complications arose in The Pits, where Craig Danby discovered that as a prank, Jason Marston had taped all of Team Terrafonics’ tools onto their pit table. However, the team were able to carry out the necessary repairs, and decided to equip Apex with its symmetrical bar for this battle.

"*If we lose this fight, that’s… a big-time suckie. It’s just a case of putting the bar on, and destroying the hopes and dreams of some children.*"
— Craig Danby discusses Apex’s chances of success against Track-tion
Both robots started tentatively, with Apex gingerly approaching Track-tion as it got its bar spinner (which was unbalanced) up to speed. Momentarily spinning round, it steered itself into Track-tion’s wedge, sending sparks flying with two successive hits, with Team Terrafonics attempting to reduce the bar speed. However, these attacks de-stabilised Apex; seconds later, its bar spinner hit its own pulley system, causing the weapon to shear off and Apex itself to tremble violently while propelling towards Sir Killalot’s CPZ.

"*Oh, well, they’ve spun horribly out of control! What on earth happened there? Bits flying off completely… oh my goodness me, I’ve never seen it before! They don't even know what happened to their hugely powerful bar spinner! The arena’s in shards!*"
— Jonathan Pearce as Apex's bar detaches and damages the arena wall
Apex’s bar spinner cleaved through one of the bulletproof wall panels, while the robot itself was picked up and pitted by Sir Killalot after ‘Cease’ had been called. Not mentioned on the broadcast, Team Terrafonics managed to get Apex ready to fight again, despite having a clipped wire, which would have prevented Apex from moving forwards, as well as having significantly bent panels and forks. This defeat resulted in Apex being eliminated from Series 10, with Craig Danby and Dara Ó Briain discussing afterwards the damage its bar dealt to the arena wall.

**Craig Danby**: "*We’re trying to contain 106 kilojoules of energy, it’s just – there’s nothing that powerful out here, so ... we’ve never built anything like that, and we will never build anything like that again.*"
**Dara Ó Briain**: "*Oh I don’t know – I think this is fun! This is great. You’re out of the competition, that’s not fun for you.*"
**Craig Danby**: "*No, no.*"
**Dara Ó Briain**: "*But look at that – look at that!*"
— Craig Danby and Dara Ó Briain discuss the damage done to the arena wall following Apex’s self-destruction
### Extreme Robots Championships 2018

Apex was first drawn against Beast. Apex lost this fight and was relegated to the Loser's Melee.

In this rumble, Apex would face TR3, S.M.I.D.S.Y., Griffalo, Fenrir, ST Ripper, and ACE. TR3 would ultimately win the rumble and everyone else was eliminated.

### BattleBots Proving Ground

Apex made its *BattleBots* debut in Proving Ground, where it fought Slammo! on the weekend of December 16-17, 2023 as part of the live show, *BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon*.

Whereas Slammo! was very quick out of its starting square, Apex was comparatively slow. This allowed Slammo! to charge at Apex before it got its horizontal spinner up to speed, slamming it into the screws but losing its googly eye. One of Apex's wheels appeared locked up as Slammo! looked to get a good angle on its opponent, and Apex struggled to drive away as a result.

Slammo! then caught Apex in its lifting arms and crashed it against the Upper Deck. Despite losing its left-side wheelguard, this proved the knockout shot as Apex's two undamaged wheels could not get sufficient grip on the BattleBox floor. With its wheels spinning hopelessly, one of which was visibly split, Apex was counted out and Slammo!'s win by knockout was confirmed.

Keen to earn revenge, Apex fought Slammo! for a second time during the weekend.

This time, Slammo! charged Apex into the arena wall, breaking one of its omniwheels and flipping it over almost immediately in an impressive suplex move. Apex was caught by Slammo! again and driven in the opposite wall, losing a wheel in the process.

Slammo! then rammed Apex into the short corner, but this cost Craig Danby's robot its central fork and part of its mohawk. Apex was unable to self-right and finished the weekend winless.

Apex is scheduled to return to combat in February 2024. There, it will fight an unbeaten Traves T., built by Kurt Krueger.

Apex will take on Traves T. again during the Sunday show.

## Results

* Wins: 0
* Losses: 7

## See Also

* teamDANBY website
* Apex - Team Terrafonics Facebook page
* Team Danby Facebook page
* Footage of Apex's shufflebot system
* Apex (Series 9) on the *Robot Wars* website
* Apex (Series 10) on the *Robot Wars* website
* Apex (Robot Wars)
* Apex (BattleBots)