Thread: arm design
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Unread 27-01-2005, 00:47
Zippiot Zippiot is offline
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Re: arm design

pneumatics are simple, its all about levers. the closer to the pivot point the piston is mounted the more travel u get, but the more power it takes. one thing that can be used to combat this is to link multiple pistons to the same point, 1 2" piston can lift 80lbs, image 2 of them. 1 tetra on the end of a 3-5 foot arm doesn't weight more than 160 lbs (with the lever exchanges in weight and all). i am a huge fan of pneumatics but for something that needs to be able to move as versatilely as would be required this year motors seems to be the way to go (a gear ratio can be your best friends when a 4 foot arm can be swung All the way around holding an 8.5 pound piece of pipe in less than 2 seconds seems about right). but i am sure that people will make it work. the best of both worlds would be a mix of motors and pneumatics but weight comes into issue there (our bot should be 7-23 lbs underweight, but i am sure that we will be right around 130 when completed)