[Brandon_L]

Originally Posted by Donut

We finally got to use our bridge manipulator today and found that you don't actually need all that shallow of an angle to get the bridge down. While I would certainly advocate a design like this if you have the room, we have a wedge that extends out around 7" but down 12" and still works (something like a 50 or 60 degree angle). You need a bit of a running start to make sure the bridge gets down well but we've balanced once in practice today and numerous times on the practice field with this so far.

Of course it may not hold up for an entire regional of beating, but we'll know that at the end of Saturday.

Also for teams throwing something like this on last minute, you don't have to use a motor to drive it if you have no other appendage outside the robot. We have a hinge and bungee cord to flip out the wedge as soon as the robot moves and it hangs out the entire match. Saved us the weight of a motor and the time of getting it hooked up.

We found it will work with a larger angle, but it works smoother/doesn't require a head start with a smaller angle.