Will 4 CIM motors be enough...
 

Will 4 CIM motors be enough to power a conveyor belt to propel the 2014 FRC Game piece through a tube-like structure and shoot?
























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Will 4 CIM motors be enough to power a conveyor belt to shoot the 2014 FRC Game piece out of a tube?

Re: Will 4 CIM motors be enough...
 

First off, Welcome to CD!

Teams have already shown prototype wheel based shooters using less power than 4 CIM motors, so I'd say that would be enough power. Whether or not YOUR design is going to work is something that is hard to answer without more detail. Personally, I'd strongly suggest you consider putting 4 CIM's on your drivetrain and look at using some of the other motors available on your shooter. There is the potential for a lot of defense this year, and an under-powered drivetrain is going to be a big disadvantage.

By the way, you may want to eliminate the empty space in your post, it makes the thread harder to read.

Re: Will 4 CIM motors be enough...
 

Without any additional info, I'd suggest just trying it. This is what prototyping is for! Create a system that will emulate the function of the mechanism that you want on your robot and then make changes until you get it right.

If we have the same system in mind, I'd bet you one CIM would be enough. I would, however, caution you against conveyor belts as a shooting mechanism as they are very difficult to execute in a way that is reliable.

I noticed that this is your first year as a team. If you are looking for designs that are proven to work with track balls take a look at robots from the 2008 game Overdrive.
The link to the wiki on it is below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRST_Overdrive

For conveyer belt designs look at robots from the 2012 game Rebound Rumble, wiki listed below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebound_Rumble

Good luck!
Feel free to ask any questions that you might have :)
Garrett

Calculate the power necessary and compare to the CIM output power. (Hint: 4 CIMs is more than enough to move an entire robot.)

I question your willingness to allocate 4 of your 6 CIMs to a shooter. If you can, you want 4 CIMs on your drive train.

Re: Will 4 CIM motors be enough...
 

if you us to many it may over shoot and may case disaster.