[TerryS]

This is our first experience making a shooter and we were struggling with our prototype until I came across this thread. Thanks to the advice given here we finally got a good proto running today. Made over 60% of our 3-point shots from the free throw line. Over 90% doing 2-point layups.

We ended up using two 8-inch AM FIRST wheels mounted side-by-side on a 1/2" shaft. The proto is powered by a CIM with a 1:1 chain drive. We plan to use two RS-550s with a CIM-U-LATOR gearbox on the robot. Not sure how much we'll gear it down yet. Today's proto used a flat plywood hood fixed at 60 degrees. Compressing the ball by 2-2.5" seems to work best. Range dropped when we backed off to 1.5". We're going to try a 70 degree hood next as the 60 degree trajectory looked a little flat. We could make a rotating hood, but today's testing showed that we can probably make shots consistently from up close to the top of the key with a fixed angle just by changing the wheel speed.

A big mahalo to all who contributed to this thread! We'd still be struggling without your coopertition! On to the next challenge!