top of piston
 

this year my team is thinking of using a pneumatic piston to keep the ball off of over pass i was just wondering what you might think the best shape would be to put on top of the piston.

Re: top of piston
 

How about a flat plate that is hinged and fixed at one end to your robot so that your actuator pushes it up from underneath like a flipper?

Re: top of piston
 

our team use half of a tennis ball and it works great.

Re: top of piston
 

Anything blunt enough to not horribly impale the innocent trackball.

Round would probably be the easiest (spherical) due to the absence of sharp corners or edges.

Re: top of piston
 

cup plate, for maximum control. We've been whacking at the ball with a flat piece of aluminum bolted to the end of the shaft. Not very effective.