pic: helios02
 

Re: pic: helios02
 

I loved watching your team's robot -- I was amazed how fast your lift could, well, lift the trackball! Compared to our (non-functional) lift design, it was like lightning. It also scared me for a while, I thought you guys came close to tipping over every time you hurdled.

I didn't see much of your robot until after lunch, but it was awesome every time I saw it -- you guys deserved the win along with your alliance. See you in Milwaukee next year :)

Re: pic: helios02
 

Thanks for the comment. We try hard to concentrate on doing one thing really well. This year it was the lift. We started with the van door motor, but with the ball it took 12 seconds to reach full height from the floor. We decided with only a few days left to add more power. The easiest way was to take 2 CIM motors from the drive train, buy a 3rd Toughbox and replace the van door motor. That simple change increased our lifting torque by 10 times, and reduced our weight (the Toughbox weighed less than the van door motor)! Now we faced other problems like the lift moving too fast--it blew itself up the first day we tested it. After adding limit switches and tuning the lift in software we were able to tame it down and make it usable. Of course none of this would have been possible without the ITEM-brand extrusion. The weight we saved using it over other extrusions (8020 and others have a lower strength/weight ratio) enabled our level of performance this year.