Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

I would think that the Robonauts would be picking teams in elimination rounds based on what I have seen so far :yikes:. I would say make sure to pick a ramp bot that your robot can make it up easily. Many teams have slotted ramps becuase of a weight issue, and that is something they can not get around. :ahh:

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

Do you think Scott's picture is a bit reminicent of Jimmie Johnson in his Nextel commercial? I like it though. I need a picture of me with that.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

Our team has uber small slits in the ramps. You didn't have to make your ramps out of metal. If you didn't use metal, you would have enough weight to make no slits. Our ramps are very successful moving ramps. http://kyle.fnsnet.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=805

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

116 didn't particularly like the "slitted" ramps either. We could get up them fine, but not as quickly and it took considerably more precision. I understand a few teams need the slits to make weight or store an arm, but otherwise, please try and eliminate them for the good of all climbers.
As for 118, you're going to need to line up as if you were climbing slitted ramps regardless of what ramp you're climbing. If you approach a ramp "corner first" (leading with a wheel), you will lose contact with one or more of your other wheels as you go up the incline, probably leading to that attempt up the ramp not succeeding.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

our team was going to have ramps, and they would be slitted. we can climb up ramps as well as anybody, but we wanted the ramps as a safety net. should we leave them off? b/c our robot is a kick-butt tube scorer (just ask 116). any thoughts would be lovely before palmetto.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

I love your tube scorer. It looks so cool. Its like a see-saw.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

Our ramps are slitted but we have side rails also and the pieces the robots drive on ar at least 1 foot wide with some heavy duty grip tape. It is just right for a robot to come in and barely have any space for their bot to turn and fall off.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

The reason I am asking this is because for a crab drive system the wheels are not always aligned straight like many robots have in rows of eight. In a crab drive every wheel turns when you tap the stick so the slotted ramps are very dangerous especially for us because it is much much harder to make sure all the wheels are exactly parallel with the ramp.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

Don't worry, we have ramps made of single sheets of honeycombed fiberglass ;) Sturdy, great support, lightweight, you'll love us. Don't forget team 1885 if you need another team on your alliance :D

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

Yeah that kind of does look like Jimmie with the Nextel Cup. If they never won a cup never listen to them.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

IF (and only if) you can put on the ramps without sacrificing your scoring ability. 217 removed their platforms in St. Louis because (among other reasons) they couldn't see the tubes as well with them on. 612 also made an improvement during the eliminations when they took their ramps off (no longer had to worry about them deploying early, and gave more time to score).
In my opinion, it is better to be great at one aspect than mediocre at multiple.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

118's crab has more pushing power than most robots. It will handle defense better than any other drivetrain.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

so if we practice with it, and it works just as well as it did before, then keep it? and if not, scrap the idea? that sounds good to me. hopefully the engineers will listen to me:D . thanks for the advice.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

Mediocre? Do I need to remind you to go back to the picture of Scott with the banner from our win? A bot with a strong ramp can be a descent to excelent scorer also. If you don't think so, watch how we handle Purdue.

Re: To All Ramp Bots.
 

I don't think anyone said that it is impossible to be good at both. Lil' Lavery's point, which I agree with, is that a team shouldn't compromise their scoring arm/lift/whatever by adding ramps that will end up being mediocre. Excelling at ramping or scoring is far more useful than being average at both.

If you think that your team can do both well and neither is severely hampered by the other, then good for you and your team! That means that you have confidence in your robot and you designed it well.