Frictionless tape.

[Dragonking]

I saw team 70 at Kettering use some kind of white tape that decreased friction for discs to slide in their collector. Any ideas on what kind of tape this could be. We are working on improving our own collector efficiency.

[Garten Haeska]

We used a similar product. We got it our of our shop at school. Its commonly used to put on the bottom of drawers to allow easier sliding. worked very well.

Try a local hardware store, we bought ours at Ace Hardware. But i forgot what it was called.

[Bob Steele]

Interesting... I would think that that frictionless tape would not stick to anything.... hmmmmm

:rolleyes:

[Littleboy]

We use teflon tape on our collector. It's expensive, so use it sparingly.

[EricDrost]

You're looking for Teflon Tape.

Edit: Beat me to it.

[JesseK]

Is there a better name for Teflon Tape that's unambiguous to the pipe Teflon tape that has no sticky backing?

[Zuelu562]

Jesse, I believe "Teflon Surfaced Tape" or something similar would suffice. We initially went with that for our mechanism, but considering how much we did to the darn thing we decided on raised plastic strips that the disks slide on. Also, insert snarky comment about "friction-less tape" here.

[Bob Steele]

Ultra-Slippery Tape Made with Teflon® PTFE

http://www.mcmaster.com/#surface-protection-tape/=lr19xv

or try a UHMW tape...
http://www.mcmaster.com/#surface-protection-tape/=lr1agr

some are sticky back... others you apply with an adhesive...

[Jeffrafa]

This is what we picked up for a similar purpose:

http://www.amazon.com/CS-Hyde-Polyethylene-Rubber-Adhesive/dp/B000REGUE4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362523821&sr=8-1&keywords=UHMW+tape

UHMW tape with adhesive back - only .020" thick, easy to apply, and offers a slippery surface. Not sure if the teflon tape that Bob mentioned would be more slippery, but the price was hard to beat for a 18 yard roll.

[Andy A.]

UHMW Polyethylene tape is possibly a better choice then PTFE for a lot of FIRST applications. It's more abrasion resistant and generally tougher. It's not quite as slick, but it'll retain it's properties under harsh or less then ideal conditions. It's also pretty cheap.

Mcmaster has a wide variety of it. I'm a fan of the 3M VHB adhesive backed stuff. They aren't kidding when they call it Very High Bond; it sticks to everything and stays there.

[BradleyView]

This is actually what I do for a living. I definitely agree UHMW is probably your best tape for this particular application- it will not wear as easily, not quite as low coefficient of friction but should be good enough, and it will be either an acrylic or rubber adhesive which is better in case you have to take it off. PTFE tapes are commonly silicone since they are used for their stability at relatively high temps, although they do come in acrylic or rubber.Silicone would make it a pain if you did have to take it off and try to stick anything else where you had the tape previously. UHMW can be milky white to clear.

[pilum40]

We use 2" Teflon tape. Bought it by the roll via McMaster-Carr. This is one of the best things I've learned as a coach/mentor this year....I had no idea anything like McMaster-Carr existed. Great find! Thanking our mechanical engineer mentor from Lockheed-Martin!:D

[electroken]

We used Lemon Pledge. Seriously.

And the robot smells nice.

[jspatz1]

We used Lemon Pledge. Seriously.

And the robot smells nice.

This! Spray it on the floor next time your moving a heavy machine. Glides like air hockey.