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Unread 04-12-2012, 08:44
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AKA: Andrew Palardy (Most people call me Palardy)
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Re: Balancing an Arm

Quote:
Originally Posted by akoscielski3 View Post
How do you counter balance an elevator??
Constant force coil spring.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#constant-force-springs/=kg1vlp

Our 2011 elevator will naturally float up when the robot is turned on its side, and will also walk upwards if the return cable is disconnected. Since it's slightly over-balanced, the weight of any game piece evens it out, and the mechanical resistance in the motor gearboxes holds it in place fairly well in almost any position. We initially built the system and estimated a certain portion of the load would be balanced, and geared accordingly. After building, we changed the gear ratio for more speed due to the relatively light load the system was under (for 2x 550 motors).
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