Re: Scissor Design
 

team 555 used a scissor lift last year to reach the bar but it didnt work great. They are a good idea but have a few flaws, you can power them 2 ways (that i know of), either using a worm gear or penumatics. We used a word gear and didnt really plan well, so ours went really slow, but so did other teams with a worm gear powered lift. Pneumatics solves the problems with speed, but then you have to have the weight of the system on your bot, plus you have to wait for the pneumatics to recharge after using them. I would shy away from a scissor lift this year, but if you want to, by all means, please prove me wrong.

Just a thought

Re: Scissor Design
 

I worked with a scissor mechanism for Zone Zeal a few years ago, using it to extend into opposite zones at the end of the match. One of the things I learned was that it is extremely difficult to keep them aligned properly, and moving in the direction you want without arching one way or the other. You may also notice that, all things considered, scissor type mechanisms aren't really all that common in "real world" applications.

That being said, I have also seen many successful robots use a scissor system, as noted in many of the above posts. Its basically a very precise process. If you have the resources, and enough room under the weight limit to make a scissor life, more power to you. Otherwise, I would say you might want to have an alternative plan in the works, just in case things don't pan out the way you want. Then again, an alternate plan is always a good idea for any part of the robot.