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Re: Fork type End Defectors & Ball acquisition
We have a set of forks that have the same radius as the ball at the height we grab it. A pneumatic cylinder opens them and when the button is released it remains closed around the ball. Our forks are made of carbon fiber and we have had them broken twice so far. (we have spares) Once we ran them into the end wall (in Portland) and another time another team rammed them (I think it was not intentional). They are pretty sturdy and they have a shock absorber of our own design that allows them to flex when hit...
Our third claw (we call it the talon) comes down from the top and traps the ball in a three point grip. It is quite effective at holding the ball.
The entire lift mechanism tilts back when we have the ball and keeps the ball centered on our robot for traveling to the scoring quadrant.
The talon is also powered by a pneumatic cylinder.
The third appendage is our kicker which we affectionately call "the tongue"
which gives the ball a small kick at the top of the overpass allowing us to quickly hurdle.
We had some problems in Portland but re-designed two pieces and now we ar working pretty well.
With the curved claws we can pick up the ball without having to push it against the wall.
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