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Unread 25-03-2009, 14:50
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Re: Methods of adding ballast to underweight robots

3119's robot weighed 60 lbs. Two 27" 2" diameter steel bars (23.4 lbs each) got the weight up to 116 lbs. Ain't a thing of beauty that's for sure.

I would have preferred to mount the bars in a tray so they could roll toward the back (on start) with springs or compressed air to return them to the front. Moving an object is function of moment of inertia. And traction is a function of mass. So the rolling ballast will lower the moment of inertia and allow more power to be dumped at the start.