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Unread 10-03-2003, 05:04
Lloyd Burns Lloyd Burns is offline
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FRC #1246 (Agincourt Robotics)
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Rookie Year: 1997
Location: Toronto
Posts: 292
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Sharp edges on a piece of metallized mylar ?

To answer Al's question, we made a ramp, and had generic "carpet" on the floor, in an unheated school cafeteria (60 degF +, Outside Air Temp at single digits degF). We too have 'rubber' tread, but on wooden wheels, and have NOT encountered the 'static cling' that is troubling others. We have had a few hours of practice on this ramp.

Could conductive wheels clad in a thin insulator be charging better than our non-conductive aluminum-painted wheels ? The capacitance to the hdpe might be higher, and the resistance between the frame and just inside the rubber might affect it.

Maybe the wire ramp is being charged by induction, leading to higher robot charge on top of the hill. A dragged chain might change this situation, but it could also tangle on the mesh fasteners, or even on the welds in the mesh. Perhaps some limp wire...