[nighterfighter]

Originally Posted by Starke

Check out 1771 on FRC Designs Gripper page (See Link Below). This arm used a suction system to grab the ball and then used a device to launch the ball.

http://frc-designs.com/html/grippers.html

Matt

Yup, it was a big funnel with an impeller for suction, then 4 pneumatic cylinders that shot it out.

We also used 2 smaller suction cups in 2010 for the soccer balls. Although we got through 1 regional with them, we quickly switched to a roller design before championships. The problem with the soccer balls (and probably these foam basketballs) is that it isn't an even surface, so it was hard for the suction cups to get and keep suction on.