How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

There are going to be some extremely fast climbers this year. How fast can you reasonably climb without putting the Pilots, the field, and your robot in danger?

For example, say a team can climb in 1 second. Their robot is going to be traveling very fast... they are going to hit the field sensor very hard... how much abuse can the field take?

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

Never enough.

Looking at you Team 900....

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

QFT.

I'm even more concerned hen the winch doesn't stop at the top of the climb

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

I could see a team that runs into the touchpad and continues running their winch until one of two things happens:
They burn out their motors

OR

Their gearing is reduced enough that they yank the retaining knot of their rope through the davit and fall to the ground.

Teams should plan on having a way to stop climbing when they reach the top that doesn't consist of stalling motors.

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

ok I am not a programmer but isn't there a way to sense current draw and shut the motors off when it spikes?

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

What happens when the retaining knot is solid, the gear ratios are low, and the rope is rated to ridiculous tensile strengths? Is there a realistic possibility that something on the field could break?

What recommendations do people have so teams

1. Don't burn out climber motors
2. Don't break the field

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

As Bruceb noted, you could have some way to detect a spike in current that the climb motor is drawing, and use this as a trigger to stop running the motor. (I'm not a programmer, but I know that the control system lets you monitor current outputs.) Or, you could set up a system where there is a flexible plate over a limit switch, such that when it is pushed against the touch sensor the plate will bend down and trip the limit switch. This way it could apply the required force to activate the sensor, but stop you from trying to tear the airship apart.

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

You know, the rope and target are one of the few things on the field you can be reasonably sure you'll be able to see. Just have the operator stop hitting the "winch up" button.

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

I was literally thinking the same thing.

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

This has been my biggest fear after seeing the reveal at Kickoff. I'm hoping this coming weekend will answer a lot of my questions.

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

If you design a robot that breaks the field again and again you are going to get on the FTA and head refs bad side really quickly and you don't want to reside there.

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

I've seen FRC team build some pretty amazing machines over the past few years. I would be disappointed if a wide spread problem was not being able to stop a motor once the robot has hit a button. One would think the problem could be solved by something as simple as a limit switch and locking gear box among many other (alot of them not very complex :D ) things.

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

Yeah, as far as I could tell, isn't this a fairly simple solution? Or are some teams unable to stop their winch?

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

If it's run by a motor, either the team commands it to shut off or the robot shuts it off when it gets disabled.

Re: How Fast Can you Safely Climb?
 

you can only see 2 of the ropes. The third one is on the back side of the gondola.