Jamison Go’s first fighting robot was a three-pound version of what would later become SawBlaze, which he took to an amateur underground competition while he was in middle school.

“I won that very first event and found a home in that welcoming community of creative folks. I’ve learned a lot over the years and fighting robots has been a guiding hobby that parallels my engineering career,” recalls Go.

Go later formed Team SawBlaze. Even though the team had participated only in the underground circuit (and hence were not as well known as teams that had participated in more formal competitions), Team SawBlaze was accepted on the second season of the popular BattleBots television series reboot.

The first SawBlaze design featured a fireman’s rescue saw, and a green-fire flamethrower mounted to a pivoting arm. Referring to the flamethrower, the BattleBots producer simply said, “We have to have that green fire.”

Now a recognizable and popular team with a growing fan base, Team SawBlaze relies on SOLIDWORKS® mechanical design, simulation, visualization, and PCB design solutions to develop and improve each version of its couple-hundred-pound robot that competes on BattleBots.

In less than a week, Go improved the spin-up performance of SawBlaze’s primary weapon using SOLIDWORKS CAD, simulation, and PCB design tools. The first version of its unique, sensor-laden board transforms a sensorless, brushless motor into a motor that spins up faster than the same motor without the sensor board.

Also, SOLIDWORKS Visualize rendering tools enable Team SawBlaze to accelerate creating high-quality photorealistic renderings to show BattleBots producers how each iteration of their robot will look and operate.