[EricH]

Originally Posted by XXShadowXX

With wheels on the side you need at least 2, one for each side, if your using belts you can get away with one since the ball will be in contact for a longer time.

No, you don't. 1 will do just fine, if you have a back plate to compress against. 2006 showed that. Contact time has little or nothing to do with it.

I was thinking a bit (dangerous, I know), and had a thought: What if most of the chute didn't rotate, but just the top part did and had the launching wheels close to it? You could run a belt up to the top and have a slower launch speed because you no longer have to fight gravity for the full distance. You also have the ball moving when it comes in, so there is less motor speed loss, and you can shoot faster.