Team 23 Week 6 Snapshot

[DominickC]

Hello from Plymouth, Massachusetts Team 23!

Here's an old photo from Week 6.

http://pnta.org/files/full_metal_jacket.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2NcMm7MvsA&feature=youtu.be%3Cbr%20/%3E


Enjoy!

[Grim Tuesday]

This is an exceedingly neat design.

[ZipTie3182]

Wow, that shooter is awesome! And I mean that in the way that it inspires awe :D

Any chance you'd explain how it works to propel the ball? I'm fascinated. I promise my team won't scramble to copy your design in the last week of build season ;)

-Anna

[Borobo]

how exactly does the cannon function. what is the propulsion method. is it based on some sort of spring powered plunger?

[DominickC]

We've got three marine blowers in the back coming into a fitting which increases the pressure while coupling them to the barrel. On the front end, we've got an aluminum ring to counter-balence the heavy fans, as well as an extension which moves with the angle of the barrel to give us extra distance while staying within the 14'' requirement at all times :D

[KevinGoneNuts]

Are those leather bumpers???

[DominickC]

Are those leather bumpers???

Maybe :D

[KevinGoneNuts]

Maybe :D

Props. Nice robot too!

[its da PAT!!!]

We've got three marine blowers

What motors are you using to power the blowers?

[DominickC]

3x modified YellowTail Blowers

[its da PAT!!!]

3x modified YellowTail Blowers

Last time I check that isn't an approved motor?

[cire]

Impressive. I did not think I'd see any teams with blower powered cannons!

Kudos to all your team.

[DominickC]

Last time I check that isn't an approved motor?

Modified, heavily modified ;)

Impressive. I did not think I'd see any teams with blower powered cannons!

Kudos to all your team.

Thanks! I'll let the build team know they did a good job, I had nearly nothing to do with this piece of machinery :p

[its da PAT!!!]

Don't get me wrong I love the idea, its really awesome!

[TeamUpNext3528]

OMG! Man, thats just crazy! I love it! Such a unique design. Does it work well when is shoots them out? Which goal are you going for?

Props! :) :)

[DominickC]

Thanks! Works like a breeze (ha!) Hitting the 3 point consistently from against the barrier surrounding the hoops, and going for the 2 pointers from the key.

[JosephC]

Great idea, I never would have thought to use blowers. Looking forward to seeing this thing in action at worlds!

[CalTran]

That in itself looks like it could be modded post season into one heck of a tshirt cannon...and in season that looks like a mortar system. I'd love to see this beast in action. What's the maximum rate of fire you've gotten out of your air cannon system?

[DominickC]

I think we're going to see if they'll allow us to launch T-Shirts into the crowd at competition.

I'm not sure of the exact rate, however we are able to make half-court shots with ease.

[Ty Tremblay]

Is it only one ball at a time? Or can you load multiple balls into the air cannon? I would assume that the first ball would severely reduce your suction power once it's loaded.

[DominickC]

Nope, just one ball at a time. The ball collector located under the cannon allows us to carry/transport the maximum of 3 balls, fire one, load another, and fire again.

[itsjustmrb]

So does the fan/blower violate the following rule?

The only motors and actuators permitted on 2012 FRC Robots include:

K. drive motors or fans that are part of a speed controller or COTS computing device and fans included in the 2012 Kit of Parts

We decided early on that we would have trouble picking up a ball and launching one with the KOP provided fans, especially when we fried one of them.

[jblay]

I am starting to see more and more robots that are scoring against the fender aka "Fender Bots." Ours is obviously done very differently (infer what you will), your design is unique and awesome, but I am very interested to see how things work out with your bot.

Just awesome, good luck in 2012

[Andrew Lawrence]

I am starting to see more and more robots that are scoring against the fender aka "Fender Bots." Ours is obviously done very differently (infer what you will), your design is unique and awesome, but I am very interested to see how things work out with your bot.

Just awesome, good luck in 2012

The Fender bot, as I see it, will get very popular, and some will even be engineered to not get pushed against. The question is: How can you make yours more effective than the other ones? I know you guys aren't going to be fender bots, but I just have to wonder: How will great teams deviate from the standard fender bot and make them super fender bots?

[DominickC]

So does the fan/blower violate the following rule?

The only motors and actuators permitted on 2012 FRC Robots include:

K. drive motors or fans that are part of a speed controller or COTS computing device and fans included in the 2012 Kit of Parts

We decided early on that we would have trouble picking up a ball and launching one with the KOP provided fans, especially when we fried one of them.

These fans are 100% legal ;)


I am starting to see more and more robots that are scoring against the fender aka "Fender Bots." Ours is obviously done very differently (infer what you will), your design is unique and awesome, but I am very interested to see how things work out with your bot.

Just awesome, good luck in 2012

We have a high rate of accuracy by lining up with the fender, but have just an easy time shooting from anywhere else forward of the key. Do you have an image/video of your bot online for viewing?

Good luck to you too!

[EricH]

So does the fan/blower violate the following rule?

The only motors and actuators permitted on 2012 FRC Robots include:

K. drive motors or fans that are part of a speed controller or COTS computing device and fans included in the 2012 Kit of Parts

We decided early on that we would have trouble picking up a ball and launching one with the KOP provided fans, especially when we fried one of them.
The blower itself would not be illegal. Having the motor from the blower would. By replacing the motor with a legal one, the device becomes legal.

It's not uncommon for teams to see a device that has an illegal motor but fits the game, remove the motor, and modify the device to fit a KOP or other legal motor. One of the favorite "victims" of this modification seems to be a DeWalt gearbox, but I've seen vaccums have that done to them. (The other good one was the "air wall" method of shot blocking attempted in 2006. It failed miserably, no matter who tried it.)

[372 lives on]

i agree with eric.
looks liek motor rules violations

[DominickC]

i agree with eric.
looks liek motor rules violations

Read the second sentence of his post down. We "heavily modified" the blowers, implying we gutted them.

[jblay]

These fans are 100% legal ;)




We have a high rate of accuracy by lining up with the fender, but have just an easy time shooting from anywhere else forward of the key. Do you have an image/video of your bot online for viewing?

Good luck to you too!

We have basically the same ability. We will be posting some photos to CD very soon. Basically as soon as I can grab some really good ones.

[DominickC]

Ah, very cool! Can't wait to see what your team has come up with !

[EricH]

i agree with eric.
looks liek motor rules violations
That means you disagree with me.

If the blowers are modified to have legal motors instead of the ones they came with, they are perfectly, 100% legal (given that they also fit within cost constraints, which I'm reasonably certain they do).

I would assume that that is the modification made, and hazard a guess that 3 of the 4 allowed BaneBots motors are in the blowers now.



Bonus trivia: The last time team 23 competed was in 1999--think 2-team alliances. Back then, most of the non-bulk-material robot parts came from Small Parts Inc, or the KOP. Within a couple of years, Small Parts could not handle the amount of orders, so the allowed materials list had to expand. If 23 has any mentors from that era, they must think they're in paradise with all the allowed cool stuff! Particularly the fact that now you can use motors that aren't coming out of those boxes you get in January!

[Greg Leighton]

Bonus trivia: The last time team 23 competed was in 1999--think 2-team alliances.

Very Cool! Glad to see your team is back and what a year to pick as well. Basketball game, your team number is 23, the same number as arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, very cool. :D

[DominickC]

We've got our original coach, a few mentors and two drivers from that era. It'll be interesting to ask how the game has evolved over the years.

[DominickC]

4th place success in Connecticut! Saw lots of good bots, nice people, and intense matches.