So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Im just wondering if minibots will be like tower-hangers last year. To where only about 5-10% of the robots competing had them.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Can you make the thread a poll?

Our team has a working minibot, although we're planning on rebuilding its chassis so it won't be working for a while.

EDIT: It appears someone already made a thread quite like this, link is here:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=92107

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

There are many similar topics to this... But I believe about 30% of teams will have working minibots, but only 25% of them will actually be deployed... 20% of them will actually make it to the top.. And only 7% will actually do this every match... There are a zillion variables that are between you and the top of that pole...

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We have a working deployer, and out minibot runs. It slips a little going up the pole, so it's climbing in about 4 seconds, but we're working on that between now and regionals.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We've got one most of the way built, we just need to actually put it on the robot.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

we have a working minibot, and have successfully deployed it from the hostbot under program control. it climbs the polo within about 6 seconds. the deployment and climb are definitely under 10 seconds.

our biggest problem is actually lining up on the pole. alignment has to be pretty close, or deployment doesn't happen.

stay tuned

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

60% of the time, they will work....everytime.:p

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

I"m guessing more like 10% to 20% will have them working. We have one that climbs the pole, and we got the deployment system to stick it on the pole today before leaving. The system needs more work, but I think we'll be among the "have" teams.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We finally got ours working today.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Same here, now time to make it deployed properly.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

What's the point of having a good minibot if you don't have a reliable deployment system to get them to the pole?

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We have one.
See it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvrbb9g9EHM

Hope I did that right.


Bruce

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Looks nice but how are you going to make sure your robot is aligned.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

You cant see it in the video but we drop an allignment device off the back of the bot that buts up against the pole base.
[IMG][/IMG]

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We have a bat, that when released by a servo, gets surgical tubing'd into the tower. Then a pin releases, allowing the minibot to get slung down with its platform having more tubing on it. Fast and little accuracy required.
..
..
Providing if it works when we get it on the robot...

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Team 1899 does! =D about 4-5 seconds

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We are ready to go. Deployment minibot and all. My amazing programers have eliminated the need for my team to line it up. We use three IR sensors two that see the base and one up top that looks at the pole. We have used these sensors before too see how accurate they can be look at this video from last year. Obviously this isnt the same thing as this year but we were able to use this code and modify accordingly.
http://www.frc272.com/Ideas/2010_TargetAcquisition.wmv

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We decided to NOT build a mini-bot! Instead, we built a great deployment system, that will deploy a mini-bot on to the tower as long as we are +/- 5 inches off of center from the pole. We spent two weeks designing the specs for the deployment system, and then sent those specs to our FTC teams....

We let our FTC teams build the mini-bots, and we have a great one that we are bringing with us to our regionals!

A big THANK YOU! to the Ryken HS FTC LabVIEW Knights, for a job well done!

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Nice! Our alignment system is rather lower tech than that...

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We had a ~4.5 second climb with a battery that died immediately after on our "A" minibot.

Our Plan B should be a lot better.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Ours works. It stays on the robot through the match, deploys speedily, and climbs the pole quickly. We'll be tweaking the few remaining issues in coming days.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

>3 SECOND MINBOT!!!!!!!!
watch video with deployment+climb on this stream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVMd8sCR7gA

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We do but no way to deploy it.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

we have 1.75, all we have to do to number 2 is put it together which will be done tomorrow :)

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

You have to remember, the endgame value was much lower last year. Some teams figured they could score those last 2 shots in the last 15 seconds anyways. This year, the minibot's point value is definitely important and everyone should at least try (I would hope).

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

I think there were two (2) successful MINIBOT deployments at the RaChaCha Rally (a big thanks to 1511 for hosting!)

We did it once, and then tried something different where we thought that perhaps our MINIBOT might fall out... and it did... After that we didn't load it onto the robot again, happy that what we have works the way we want it to work.

Other than that and one team I didn't get a chance to see, quite a few attempts but nothing successful.

191 managed to put up two complete logos, though, with an autonomous ubertube scored -- very impressive!

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We went to a scrimmage today, we got 30 points constantly every match. The drive was acting very very strange. It would not turn. The code is not the problem, I would assume it is mechanical because it runs 100% great on blocks, but when it goes into the ring, it does not turn.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

By "turn" do you mean you could not steer the robot? or the wheels did not move at all? If it did not steer, that's probably because it's a drivetrain configuration that doesn't work well, like a 4wd (or non-drop center 6wd) long wheelbase bot with sticky wheel tread. Those don't turn.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

I am blaming the motor or gear box. It seems that it could not muster up enough torque to actually turn in place. We are using a nano gearbox this year I believe. Now I do not know the specifics, but the middle wheel is dropped 1/6 or 1/8 inch and it is a 6 wheel robot run by only one motor per side. I do not know if that is the problem (I am the programmer). I can ensure my code works. I put my seal of approval on it. It turns when moving forward (like how a car would turn), but zero point turning seems to fail. Our chain broke, so we left early today. I will investigate more tomorrow

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

With a system like that, you have to balance the center wheel drop, with the wheel tread traction, and you probably want to run two CIMs per side. With sticky treads and not enough drop, and only one motor per side, it would be likely to not turn on carpet.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Oh, just great. That system worked fantastically last year. It is also true that we were actually very light too. My mentor says that the code is fantastic, the best handling in history, but that was on the concrete without an arm or minibot to weigh it down during week 2.

Oh and thank you, that is what I suspected. I have been pushing 2 motors since week one, but I guess the drive people thought the extra weight was not worth it.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Again, I still cannot figure out this website so I am posting my question here. Many teams have stated that modifying the tetrix gearbox is the way to go, but no one has said exactly what they did to make their own gears, or where they found their own.

So my question is, what exactly do we need to do to make our minibot climb faster? I understand removing weight, adding a gear ratio outside, or modifying the gearbox inside the motor are all viable solutions, but how should we go about doing this?

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

I'm confused to what you are asking. The ideas you listed are all viable options to increase minibot speed so why are you asking how to do it? FIRST provides an engineering challenge for us to solve, and it seems as you have some ideas as to solve the minibot challenge, so go out and do it.

Sure, someone here could hand you the exact answer your looking for and you will probably make a faster minibot. What are you learning from that? What's your team learning from that? Use the ideas you have and THINK about how to solve the problem. If you have specific questions about how to do something, myself or someone else would gladly help you out, but the impression I'm getting is you want the answer handed to you.

Best of luck, and if you have any specific questions I will gladly help you out!

-Brando

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

573's minibot was complete three weeks ago and it climbed a pole even before then. Our minibot team has done an excellent job this year and they have enjoyed working on their part of the robot.

Our deployment structure is done. We were not able to test it because we are still waiting for a 4/1 banebots gearbox. We believe that it will be a solid deployment mechanism when we add the motor and gearbox though.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

I apologize for seeming like we just want answers. Truth is we are down right scared to start digging around in the motors, this close to competition. We fear that our minibot is decent, at around 4.5 seconds not including deployment, and we were wondering what a good way to go about it is.

Sometimes we need to figure stuff out on our own and other times we dont have the knowledge to know what to do. So here is my updated question, what are some different ways that teams have modified the gearboxes on their tetrix motors. Are there available gears for purchase or is there a way to manufacture your own?

Again sorry that I misspoke and thanks for the help.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

I was on another forum pagem and someone said this one quote, "Some teams are still working on their robots, some refuse to improve. Improve or perish". We are working on our minibot and the deployment system, and will continue to work on it until March 31st (competition day). You can see our robot in this video: http://wghsrobotics.webs.com/apps/vi...4-rampage-2011 I made the video, and the website, all by myself! :D . Our minibot is at the very end. It goes up in less than 4.3 seconds, but we're still working on deployment and the speed of the minibot.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Buy more TETRIX motors.

We ordered two before we got the FIRST choice package.

I'm going to lobby to buy more.

If you have one working minibot in hand, I would advise you leave it alone until you have a second better working minbot in hand- Only after you reached that point should you consider cannibalizing the first minbot.

Yes, it's $40-60 for the motors depending on your school discount- but it is a huge stress reliever to have that working bot locked up safely while you experiment (especially if you are considering destructively ripping into the gearboxes)

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We got our Minibot up the pole in 3.14 seconds(not including deployment). We're also working on another minibot that's about half way done that should double our speed (to like 1.7 seconds). Our delivery system should be done tomorrow and "should" take 1 seconds to deploy but we'll see :p

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Get more motors. Break them instead of your 4 second minibot. You can't learn anything without breaking some stuff.

Inside you'll find four gears. Most of them match up with the others easily - that is, they (almost) all have the same "pitch". So, no need to buy more gears.

Play around with them for a while, figure out the output gear ratios for different combinations that can work, and write them down. (Note that the 'height' of the gears might not be right, sometimes you need to make spacers for the gears to get them the right height. The gear on the output shaft might need to be pressed off and you'll have to figure out how to hold it on at a different spot)

Then do the same for the tetrix gears and wheel combinations, then calculate the 'motor to wheel' gear ratios.

Pick a bunch of them - one at each end, a couple in the middle - to try out, see which works best. Keep careful notes of everything you do. Once you have the 'best', try more ratios that are closer to the 'best', and find the 'new best'. repeat until you have the best of the best, and build your minibot.

Does this process make sense to you? Of course, you need to do perhaps ten of these 'experiments' a day. Try to keep the weight of the frame of the minibot the same, make a switch system to start and stop it automatically, use a fresh battery every 4-5 runs, all to eliminate any variables that could fool you.

Good Luck.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Our team has a working minibot, although It will probably change a lot between now and the Utah Regionals.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

I believe EVERYONE'S minibots will change between now and their regionals!

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

It gives a lot of work to keep us busy, which is what we all need.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Exactly!

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

We have a working minibot that can go up the pole in less than 10 seconds. It's got strong magnets to hold it, and a single drive wheel.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Haha nice one Koko. I hope that we see more minibots (and successful deployments) at FLR.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

You may want to reference this answer in Q&A.


http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=16981

If your minibot is above the plane of the deployment line when it crosses the plane of the tower it is illegal.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

1987 has one. It doesn't work too bad (deploys and climbs in about 3.5-4.5 seconds). We may tweak the design a bit though to improve this.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Sweet! We spent today making it (almost) twice as fast... Almost exactly 2.0 seconds with deployment.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

No FTC team, no extra money, no time, no minibot. :(

Though we did have an idea for a trap-launcher like arm that puts the minibot on the pole.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

Now that helps a lot! Thanks so much and I believe in my minibot team to figure it out.

Re: So how many of you actually have a working minibot/deployment?
 

3784 has a mini bot and deployment system. We've been tweeking it some but we've had the mini bot done for weeks.