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Re: Linear Path Shooter vs. Circular Path Shooter?
One consideration for the circular vs linear shooter is how the Frisbee is released. The circular shooters I've seen in videos have a very gentle release, the outer wall very gradually moves away from the wheel until the gap is larger than the Frisbee. This means that small variations in Frisbee geometry, perhaps from prior rough handling, give slightly different release points. The theory seems to be that the Frisbee is "up to speed" well before the release point and so the exact point where it loses wheel contact doesn't matter.
The linear shooter used by the robotin3days folks uses a compliant wheel to hit the Frisbee with a pulse of energy. Given the speed involved, it it a very quick, violent, pulse. Ignoring the risk of Frisbee damage, there is no way to do that without adding some flex to the Frisbee and corresponding random velocity. I'm not at all worried that belts can't take the speed or forces required, just Google "serpentine belt" and see how they are used in cars.
Replacing the two wheels with two wheels connected by a belt, or 5 wheels and a belt if you want to go all-tank style, could mean you don't have to pinch the Frisbee as hard because you have more distance (= time) to add energy to it. It sounds like this could be better, but convincing experimental measurement of the magnitude of the effect is what we're lacking in this discussion.
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