How does Your ramp/lift work?
 

I was making a polished animation of our ramp and how it works for display at regionals, when I realized that maybe we were unique with the way we did the lifting. I'm just wondering how your team's ramp/lift works.



Our robot is a "teeter-totter" on wheels. We use the weight of one robot to offset the weight of another, so that when we do have to actively lift another 'bot, we'll only have to lift 10-15lbd of their weight... which is easily done with a single pneumatic piston. We should only have to actively lift someone when the weight difference is very high between the robots, and the lighter one gets on first; which we will try to avoid through strategy at the beginning of the match.

Here's the (almost) final pit animation.

Re: How does Your ramp/lift work?
 

Nice animation, it gets the idea across very clearly so people should have no problem understanding the design. I think I can honestly say that's the one lift idea I've seen posted that we didn't think of.

Only questions are do you have hard stop for the first robot so they don't drive off or go too far before the second bot? Do you have a reset for when some one drives too far if you don't have a hard stop?

I know I didn't answer the question.:D

Good luck in Philly this year we won't make to defend the title with you.

Pete

Re: How does Your ramp/lift work?
 

Ours drops the ramps on each side, then 3 11 stroke pistons on each side lift the ramps. The ramps drop and rise in a way that doesn't require either of the other bots weight on our robot. So we can lift only one if one bot dies, or two if they both make it back.

Re: How does Your ramp/lift work?
 

We do have a hard stop. If you drive too far, you simply drive backwards till the thing flips down again. However, in certain cases of driving too far, no amount of mechanism will recover that...;-)

As for our title... None of us will be there I guess! CIA and ourselves will be attending Cleveland instead. Good luck up north!