Coefficient of friction of wood vs metal
 

How large do you think the difference between a rock wall made out of wood and one made of metal is? Our team has a little trouble getting over the wood rock wall to begin with, are we in trouble?

Re: Coefficient of friction of wood vs metal
 

What is contacting the rock wall wood/metal? What kind of wood, how dusty is it?

Re: Coefficient of friction of wood vs metal
 

The metal rock wall also has a rounded edge.

Re: Coefficient of friction of wood vs metal
 

It will depend a bit on what type of wheels you've used. As an example, AndyMark's 8-in pneumatic tires reportedly have a CoF between tire and carpet of 1.27, compared to the CoF between tire and steel of 0.49. The link below lists some CoF values. There could be a significant difference.

http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0972.htm

Re: Coefficient of friction of wood vs metal
 

We had to do some work to our chassis to get over the rock wall, after adding a layer of sheet metal to the top of it. Remember the ramps are also made of plastic....not plywood...

Re: Coefficient of friction of wood vs metal
 

If you're having trouble getting over the wood rock wall, don't count on it being any easier at a competition field. I would work on improving your design/strategy until you can confidently get over the wood rock wall and then you won't have to worry come competition where things are almost always harder even though metal is a little more "slidey" than wood.

Re: Coefficient of friction of wood vs metal
 

Go to the hardware store and get some metal flashing, and some (relatively) cheap acrylic, to make your defenses more realistic.