Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

i think they count 1 revision every time they put a new bolt in! :eek:

Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

Yes, 18 times. I dont' have my design notebook with me, so I can't list what each revision entitles. But the version 6 concept is magnets with two seperate shafts. Many of the changes are small, and most don't contribute to speed, but they do add durability and reliability. ALSO, they're was a complete rebuild after version 6.12, but they're wasn't a concept change, so I include it as a version 6 model.

Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

we have 10 very distinct designs that either have completely different materials or different frames/configurations... as of now we have at least 7 frames that are still reconginziable and then there are other designs that are just on paper. It has certainly been an adventure with all the different tweaks in the rules in the first few weeks. 6.18 is impressive I am looking forward to seeing your minibot in action. What are you using as a mounting plate/bracket? just wondering.

Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

Our deployment is a swing out arm that hits the pole before the ten seconds. As long as some part of the arm makes contact with the pole, were good to go. At ten seconds, a servo releases the minibot and it shoots down the arm, hits the poll, and launches straight up. So basically the swing out arm gives our minibot 2.5-3' of play :p

As for or minibot itself, were not releasing that until we're at worlds...

Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

Haha I like that idea a lot =) But honestly, I much preffer our deployment because Gearmo10 (the robot) is pretty much perfectly symetrical now!

We used to have a swing arm to deploy the minibot, but not anymore!!

Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

So I checked the exact dimensions needed, and here they are.

The 2 PVC pipes we have as mounting have an Inside Diameter of .45".

The rods we use as the mount for the minibot are actually 3/8-16 shoulder bolts with the heads cut off. The part of the bolt without threads is 3 inches tall.

Center to center, the PVC pipes are approximately 2.55" apart.

For the purposes of deployment, the minibot is 6" tall. This will help you so that you're under the 18" line.

Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

Sorry for the triple post! Many people asked about the deployment system and so we decided to create a video showing the deployment system we use for our minibot.

I didn't explain how our deployment arm was deployed very well. There's a sort of stick coming out of our robot that goes through the hole in the deployment arm. This stick also has a tiny little hole in it that a long rod can go into and this rod is sorta flexible and goes through that "vein" and out to the servo. This drops the arm, and then a servo just pulls a piece of music wire out of a hole keeping the minibot back. That smashes the minibot against the pole and releases it!

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

Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

Sweet Deployment! Seems like something I've seen before..... =) can wait to see it at Champs!

Re: Team 931 Minibots!
 

It's amazing!