Robot Scale
 

Team 4607 has been borrowing the scale from our wrestling club - and since I am no longer a Wrestling coach (Robotics got in the way), I do not feel that we should continue to use these scales.

What type of scale does your team use to weigh your robot and where did you purchase it from? I really like the scale that team 1816 uses...

Thanks!

Coach Jurek *Chief Hedghog.

Re: Robot Scale
 

We bought a postage scale from Office Depot. It has a (about) 1 foot square base and a cord that attaches between the base and the readout. We place a piece of wood on the scale, zero it out and then weigh the robot as the scale only goes up to around 130 lbs. It works for our purposes :)

Re: Robot Scale
 

Yup, this type of scale works really well for FRC. I used them on both back on 228 and now on 148. Here's a link to this type of scale (I'm not sure if it was this exact brand, but it's this same form factor):

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/...FYZAMgodsx0ArA

BTW, do not let students/mentors weigh themselves on this, they are easy to break if you weigh over 150lbs.

Re: Robot Scale
 

We have this model:
http://www.amazon.com/Large-Postal-S...s=postal+scale

We have been using it for two seasons without any problems and it has a 400 pound capacity making it useful for weighing items heavier than robots... :D

It also came inside a nice cardboard box with foam inserts making it easy to store the other 360 days of the year we don't use it.

Re: Robot Scale
 

We use a scale with a small base, but the display is in its own box attached by a wire so that we can read it.

Re: Robot Scale
 

We use two typical bathroom scales - have two students weigh themselves, pick up the bot and step on the scales together. Add the two weights together and subtract the students weights.

Re: Robot Scale
 

We use a Vernier Force Plate with a LabQuest. Worked well.

Re: Robot Scale
 

It can be very useful to have 4 scales, one for each corner of the robot. This allows you to determine how your center of gravity is located on the robot, which can affect how it drives and turns (especially if you ever use mecanum wheels).

The Simley pre-ship scrimmage always has a very nice 4-point scale at it - it might be worth contacting them to see where they got their scale.

Our science dept has a Vernier force plate and a Vernier Labquest. The force plate is the size of a bathroom scale. Typically we put a piece of plywood on scale zero out and weigh. I think it goes up to 250 lbs.

Re: Robot Scale
 

We use this scale, it's not the most accurate, but it's pretty good and the price is right.

http://www.amazon.com/150lb-Shipping...5414507&sr=8-1

Re: Robot Scale
 

Somthing like this should be ideal with a peice of plywood. Accuracy is important so it might be worth investing in a scale that will last and be accurate.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/product...-Scale-150-Lb/

Re: Robot Scale
 

This appears to be the same scale that we have been using for years.

For our own satisfaction, we typically place known weights on the scale in an effort to verify that the measurements are correct.

Re: Robot Scale
 

A few guys on the team have a friend whose dad owns a veterinary clinic not too far from our school, so we go down there and weigh the robot on the scale for the large animals!

Re: Robot Scale
 

We bought one that was advertised for veterinarians. It's worked really well for us... one of the best purchases we've made.

Re: Robot Scale
 

brought the bathroom scale to the shop, near the end of build. Tilted the robot up on it, read 76 lbs. At regional, added 4 lbs of lexan, got it weighed on the official scale, it was 80 lbs.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Re: Robot Scale
 

I bought several of the 400 lb postage scale from amazon listed above and gave them to teams throughout Michigan. I also checked against cal weights and they were within 0.1 lbs at 100 lbs.

Re: Robot Scale
 

We have a team member who weighs almost exactly 120 pounds, so we use a large board and a piece of plywood to make a balance.

Re: Robot Scale
 

+1 for this one--it's what Garnet Squadron uses. No complaints! :)

Re: Robot Scale
 

We have a rather nice electronic package scale when we're just interested in weight. When we want to find CoG, we pull out four spring "fish scales" and hang one corner of the robot from each of them. We even have some stands that were modified from turkey fryer hooks from which we can hang the spring scales.

Re: Robot Scale
 

Coopertition extends beyond FIRST

Re: Robot Scale
 

Agreed. Not only do we borrow bits of gear from the other teams at the school, but we have helped some with their equipment. For the flag team, a few of our members helped with the design and construction of decorative lighting on the leaders' batons.