Re: pic: FRC 2363 Triple Helix, 'Genome Theta' 2016
 

Zebra_Fact_Man: Thanks. We stocked up on tanks from Pneuaire. Company name has since changed.

PayneTrain: We don't mind. I'd rather have someone point out an issue we already know about - than not point out an issue we don't know about.

mrmummert: Yes, it is paracord. Have any lessons you'd be willing to share?

Re: pic: FRC 2363 Triple Helix, 'Genome Theta' 2016
 

Todd...you may or may not remember the issues we had with our winch system last year in which we used paracord.
Kyle can probably fill you in a little on it too. I forget at the moment which type we used (we tried several types) but I recall using the stuff that wasn't supposed to stretch...well no matter what you do it will stretch some or a lot
depending on what type you use. We found that out the hard way. We had to add a tensioning spring to prevent slack. We found out that it worked well when a constant load was on it. When we had any good amount of slack it would bind up on us or get caught in parts of the winch we had. You guys usually make stuff to closer tolerances than we do so you might not have too much of a problem with it. It also helps to burn the ends a little to help keep it from unraveling.

Over time keeping our winch and arm operating properly slowly became a PIA. That was one of the reasons we changed our robot design that we used for the off season "Rumble" event.

Re: pic: FRC 2363 Triple Helix, 'Genome Theta' 2016
 

Thanks, Hank. Happily the mechanism with the paracord only has to work once per match. We have lots of weight allowance we could use to replace all the cord with chain, if it came down to it. During the match we plan to wad up the slack cord and wrap it with rubber bands. The theory is that it will deploy without getting hung up. We'll see, though...

Re: pic: FRC 2363 Triple Helix, 'Genome Theta' 2016
 

We replaced all our paracord with spectra spearfishing line. The climber works quite nicely, as you can see in this video. Views from onboard the robot, closeup video, and wideview video of our second semi-final match at the Hampton Roads CHS district event. We had 11 scoring climbs at this event.