Beetleweight
The Beetleweight class is for robots weighing up to 3 lb (1.36 kg) in the US, or 1.5 kg in the UK. It's one of the most competitive classes, fought at many local events and at NHRL, and many builders move up to it after starting with smaller robots.
Rules
- SPARC: 3 lb (1.36 kg), called Beetleweight in the SPARC Tournament Procedures. Shufflers can weigh 3.75 lb, non-traditional drives 4.5 lb, and walkers 6 lb.
- UK (FRA): 1.5 kg.[1]
- NHRL: 3 lb, under NHRL's own rules.
Typical builds
- Drive: 22 mm brushed planetary gearmotors, or (increasingly) brushless gearmotors such as Repeat Robotics and FingerTech brushless drives (see Insect Class Motors and Drive Systems).
- Weapon: brushless outrunners of around 28–36 mm with 40–45 A ESCs, often belt driven.
- Battery: 3S or 4S LiPo, often around 850–1000 mAh.[2]
- Materials: often mostly 3D printed plastics with metal armor and reinforcements (frequently cut by an online service), or UHMW, aluminum and titanium; weapons in hardened steel (see Armor and Materials and Fabrication Services).[3]
- Common designs: vertical spinners and drums, horizontal undercutters, beater bars, and lifters and control robots.
- Arena: SPARC recommends 3/8" polycarbonate walls (or an air-gapped double layer) and at least an 8 × 6 ft floor.
Getting started
NHRL's starter guide says a capable 3 lb robot can be built for around $400, though top robots can cost into the thousands.[4] See What Your First Robot Costs for a full breakdown. Kits (as of October 2026, often sold out between batches) include the Just 'Cuz Robotics SSP lifter, the Repeat Robotics Peter Bar Kit vertical spinner, the FingerTech NightWing undercutter and FingerTech's beater-bar parts bundle, and NHRL's HAVOC Academy Crash Course build-along kit. See Kits.
Where they fight
Beetleweights fight at many local events (see Events) and at most NHRL events in Norwalk, Connecticut.
NHRL 3 lb world champions
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Lynx |
| 2022 | Lynx |
| 2023 | Booty Brigade |
| 2024 | Repeater |
| 2025 | Pinevictus |
Source: Wikipedia and the NHRL event winners list.
See also
- Antweight (1 lb) and Hobbyweight (12 lb)
- Robot Classes
- Spinner Design