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Re: Additional questions about improving pneumatic catapult
So, part of the issue we found was that the ball was rolling off the ramp as it was firing. We fixed that by adding a bit of metal to the end, the ball now follows a much more predictable path.
We've ordered high flow solenoids as suggested by team 842 on another of my threads; this should hopefully allow the air to get in a lot faster. The other thing that we did is adjust the angle a bit so that the pistons start at the bottom of their extension and are stopped half way through or so by a rope.
We have, however, come across a new problem. Namely, the cheap hinges that we are using take a heavy beating from the pistons and experience a lot of torque against the point where they're supposed to be hinging; we're looking at steel hinges right now, and we plan on hinging the entire ramp instead of just at 2 points. Hopefully this will allow for better power conversion.
After doing these changes, the ball is able to follow a path that's just barely high enough for it to get over the truss; we hope that the high flow solenoids, which will arrive tomorrow, coupled with a stronger hinge or two, will allow us to fully use the power.
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