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Unread 19-02-2013, 11:19
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Re: Over weight robot

10 pounds is a lot to lose, but you can do it. Remember that you don't need to lose it all at once, small cuts add up!

First, think of how much you actually need to run your pneumatics, we have used precharged in the past and as long as you don't have a leak it works well. I would recommend taking off the compressor before removing airtanks, it is heavier and less necessary. If you are using a full sized compressor, you could start by switching to the mini one, that will save you about 2 pounds. If you have the mini one and you take it off that will be about the same.

Swiss cheese is good. Find places that you can drill holes or enlarge ones that are not critical or in use. This won't do a ton, but you could probably get 3-4 pounds out of it if you really stretch it. I would say that 3 is a reasonable goal.

Look at all of your bolts. Find which ones are extraneous and take them out. Like the post above said, you probably don't need 3 1/4-20's to hold up the 1/2 pound airtank. 2 would probably be sufficient, even 1. Heck, you could probably get by with zipties for it. That's what we are using. Find all the bolts that extend far past the nuts holding them on. switch them to the smallest possible size that you can use while still going through the nut. This could add up to about 2 pounds depending on how much you guys take out.

Find material that you don't need and remove it. This is basically just drilling holes but bigger. if you have a full plate that a frisbee will slide on, you really only need the ends, take out the middle. When possible, try using 1/16" metal instead of 1/8". It's tough to tell from the picture but this might be able to get another 2 pounds for you guys.

You probably won't want to do this, but you could also find electrical wires that are too long and shorten them to just what you need. This will cut down a pound or two and eliminate any rat's nest you might have.

As a last resort, fill your air tanks with helium before weigh in

Good luck!!!
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