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Unread 10-02-2012, 22:03
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Re: Bridge material question

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidrk13 View Post
hey so i pretty much finished making the bridge and have some concerns.

1. is it alright to NOT include a pinch guard? whats the worst thatll happen?

2. the real field will be made out of a kind of plastic which has a different friction than plywood. is the frictional difference that great that lets say if the bot goes fine on the plywood bridge. that it wont go as smoothly on the real field or vice versa?
The competition field does not include the pinch guard, but it is good to have it on your practice bridge to keep people from getting their hands under the bridge. The worse that an happen might include having a finger cut off or some hand bones broken. This won't happen on the field since there won't be people getting their hands under the bridge. The most dangerous place is in the hinge assembly. A second danger point is right at the end of the bridge where the bridge meets the floor. If you don't want to build the entire guard, consider putting a guard over both sides of the hinge.

There is a significant difference between the slickness of a plywood bridge and one with polycarbonate on it. If you can't afford polycarbonate, consider something e styrene or acrylic which might bee a little less expensive but would be durable enough for practice.

Dr. Bob

Chairman's Award is not about building the robot. Every team builds a robot.