Re: Over weight robot
 

A few things:
-Replace all of the sheet metal with similar thickness polycarbonate.
-I can't see your battery mount, but based around the way the bot is built, it's probably overbuilt, but easy to modify
-Drop all the clips that hold in the pneumatic tanks and use 3-4 zipties.

Best of luck!

Re: Over weight robot
 

Hmmm this is a problem. So the first thing I would do is replace your shooter's "runway" with two strips of metal. That will take out a very large amount of weight. That huge piece of plywood has to weigh at least 4 pounds so I would go to a hardware store (Menards or Lowes should have it) and get a piece of 1/8 inch polycarbonate to replace it) Another step is to remove any unnecessary cross-braces. You should also open up unused holes (and add new ones) in the KOP frame members all over your robot (you have a lot of those pieces and they're pretty heavy). Try to eliminate some fasteners (they add a large amount weight) if you have access to a welder then I would recommend welding parts that you don't need to disassemble, if not then you might try rivets. Also, 80-20 adds a ridiculous amount of weight so if you have any (I can't really tell from the picture) I would try replacing it with angle or something. Once again, I would drill LOTS and LOTS of holes, every little bit helps. If you do all of this and it's still not enough, take two drive motors off (if you have four). If worse comes to worse then you'll have to take a mechanism off :( .

Re: Over weight robot
 

Please realize that this was a user error. There is no way that that tank burst by itself. There is nothing wrong with plastic tanks. Most likely the fittings on the tank were over tightened or it was dropped. Please try not to cause panic and bias towards a product because of one team's mistakes.

Re: Over weight robot
 

It looks like you have a lot of fasteners on your robot. If they are stainless steel or steel. if they are you could replace a lot of those with nylock or aluminum.
Hope this post helps.
:)

Re: Over weight robot
 

Our robot also has a weight issue... How strictly is the 120 pound rule enforced? :ahh:

Re: Over weight robot
 

It's a rule in the Game Manual. If you don't meet the rule, your robot is illegal and thus can't compete. And yes, all robots are weighed, at each competition.

Re: Over weight robot
 

You have got to be kidding me.... How heavily enforced is the bag and tag rule?

Re: Over weight robot
 

It is also a rule...it doesn't matter if it is enforced heavily or not. What matters is that it is an official FIRST rule, which all teams should follow. If you break the rule, your robot is illegal. All other teams are stopping work on their robot today...why should you be an exception?

Re: Over weight robot
 

we were just making sure.

time to swiss cheese our robot.

Re: Over weight robot
 

You should actually aim to bring your robot in a few pounds under 120 so that you can make minor modifications at the competition. The 120 pound limit is strictly enforced and you can be reinspected at any point.

Yeah, I know... that advice really helps now, doesn't it?

If you have four CIMs in your drivetrain, you can solve most of your problem just by getting rid of two of them. Yes it will affect your performance... but perhaps not by as much as you fear.

I've found that replacing all the steel screws holding the electronics down with nylon screws can shave about a pound.

The best weight loss program I've seen dropped 30lbs from a robot on Thursday, at an event. We've done ten or fifteen pounds, but it took us a weekend of build time.

One thing you might want to consider is rebuilding one of your components out of lighter weight materials. You can do this as part of your "withholding" limit. Then you could unbolt your current "heavy" unit and replace it with the "lighter" unit at the event...



Jason

Re: Over weight robot
 

I removed 8 lbs of redundant and oversized hardware from a robot once. Remove large screws that aren't needed, replace screws holding on light components and other items with zip ties, and cut down pieces of aluminum that have excess length that aren't holding anything. Holes only go so far...