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Unread 06-04-2012, 14:19
stuart2054 stuart2054 is offline
Controls Mentor
AKA: Stuart Sebright
FRC #2054 (TECH Vikes)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Rookie Year: 2010
Location: Hopkins Michigan
Posts: 102
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Re: Last Minute Changes

Quote:
Originally Posted by burnzkid View Post
Anybody else have any last minute changes? Our robot ended up being 10 pounds overweight (we never weighed it with the electronics board) so we had to ditch our only way of getting over the beam, leaving us only with the harder option of the balance bridges. Did anyone else have any last minute changes to their bot that resulted in a major change of strategy?
Changes are inevitable, reading the rules etc... doesn't always give you a good idea of how the strategy and game will effect your thoughts on design.

2011 We had a great deployment mechanism and a decent minibot (4 seconds using the gearboxes on the motors) ready after the build season. After scouting Kettering and seeing the 2 second direct drive units we went that direction and had the new ones ready for our first competition (W. MI district) and it worked for us well on to MSC and St Louis.

2012 Our original idea for balancing 3 robots was to be a robot "car hauler" and have a robot on top of ours. After the West Michigan District where we did not see many robots suitable to ride on us, We built a "stinger" to replace our ramp appendage for Niles district. If we had not had the ramp idea we would not have had the room or weight to have the stinger. We still have the ramp and could rapidly change it in the pit but I think the stinger is much more useful as we can rapidly co-op balance in the seeding matches and the ramp was only an end game piece.
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