pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

Re: pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

To spin the bearing in that wheel?

Re: pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

Haha, nah.

That wheel just happened to be a perfect holder, so we didn't have to use our hands to keep the rod from whipping around.

Re: pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

I think that was bound to happen sooner or later with the window there. I am surprised ours has not been broken before because just now I am thinking of that. We also have ours in front of a window, and it is amazing that we have not broken it yet!

Re: pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

We are using a leadscrew this year to open and close the grabber.

IF I was to make a joke, I would say it's to deploy the minibot. Otherwise, its possibly an elevator type thingy that raises pieces.

Re: pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

Just to clarify-

We removed the window ourselves, we didn't break it. We reinstalled it before we left.

And yup, it is for an elevator mechanism. (For hanging on the rafters of the ceiling! After all, there is no height limit... :p )

Re: pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

I'm going to take the guess that you're driving the arm with that leadscrew. Though 6 feet seems still a bit long, it's certainly a viable way to drive an arm.

Re: pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

Ah! I was under the impression that is was not there due to the chuck flying out! I am glad to hear that this was not the case! ::safety::

Re: pic: 1771 Lathe Guide
 

This reminds me of a funny story from my first year in FIRST(2000) We asked a student to cut us a length of all-thread. He put the 8' length of all-thread in the lathe with one foot sticking out of the chuck. He was going to use a hacksaw to cut off the piece. He turns on the lathe and suddenly realizes where the other 6 feet of all-thread is. Luckily no one was hurt it just scared the student.