Best Intake

[mfine]

Is there any consensus forming on what is the most successful style of intake, in terms of speed, consistency, and intake area, between the El Toro intake, the over the top one, the Simbot SS style one, the two grabbers, as well as others I forgot to mention?

[Cash4587]

971 type of intake is the best type of intake.

[JohnFogarty]

Originally Posted by Cash4587

971 type of intake is the best type of intake.

That pickup is slick, I also like the effective over the top pickups that have been made. Similar to the VexPro Build Blitz teams. The 1114, 179, 118, 233 pickups that are all similar to the 971 pickup in some way are all very effective. I honestly, after this weekend have learned to strongly dislike the toro intakes. However, when done well. The toro intake is still effective.

My main favorite for now is the over the top intake.

[MrForbes]

The over the top roller intake works so well because it doesn't rely on the robot being in exactly the right place, and it also "grabs" the ball instead of letting it bounce off the robot. The key is that it pushes the ball against the floor, so it can grip immediately.

The 842 grabber relies on some serious control system magic to make it so effective.

Some intakes naturally work well, and that's the one that you want to make if you don't have the ability to perfect a less optimal design.

[JohnFogarty]

Originally Posted by MrForbes

The 842 grabber relies on some serious control system magic to make it so effective.

Those are either photocells or ultrasonic distance, or vex touch sensors they have on the grabbers to detect the ball's presence automatically. Simple magic maybe. Effective nonetheless.

[MrForbes]

Really? I thought it was an IR imaging system, with onboard processing.

[JohnFogarty]

Originally Posted by MrForbes

Really? I thought it was an IR imaging system, with onboard processing.

I wonder why it would be an imaging system. I mean. If I understand the concept of the intake well enough all you need to do to make the intake truely effective is to be able to detect the ball once it reaches the optimum distance range between the grabbers/distance from the bumper so that it automatically grabs the ball.

I've been developing an intake that functions almost exactly like theirs does and it's working almost exactly like theirs with only a Maxbotics sonar sensor to detect the distance.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by JohnFogarty

Those are either photocells or ultrasonic distance, or vex touch sensors they have on the grabbers to detect the ball's presence automatically. Simple magic maybe. Effective nonetheless.

We have a similar intake and I believe we are using an infrared sensor to close our paddles around the ball. (I could be totally wrong, I'm not an electronics guy).

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Jay O'Donnell

We have a similar intake and I believe we are using an infrared sensor to close our paddles around the ball. (I could be totally wrong, I'm not an electronics guy).

It is an IR sensor.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

It is an IR sensor.

Gotta love how a judge knows more about my robot than me. CAD team problems

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Jay O'Donnell

Gotta love how a judge knows more about my robot than me. CAD team problems

I'm more impressed I didn't have to consult my notes.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

I'm more impressed I didn't have to consult my notes.

I'm just happy our robot was that memorable!

[ErvinI]

Using catapults, I'm going for 610's intake. At first I was skeptical of the need for an intake like theirs, but I've since seen plenty of robots stuff themselves using their own intake because it has to move out of the way, outside the frame perimeter, ready to be hit back inside the frame perimeter by a defending robot.

For linear punches, I'm going for 971. It can intake a ball in multiple scenarios, including a bouncing ball.

[tr6scott]

Check out 1718 top roller design, it is done really well. The top roller is spring loaded, and has about 4" of travel, to keep contact with the ball while controlling pressure on the roll, and the sides of the arm is made of some material that flexes and springs back into position.

It was a thing of ugly beauty.

We have 1x2 thick wall aluminum tube that has not broken, but we have cracked welds after each weekend.

1718 has the bend but don't break design, that just works better. Nice job Pi.

[cgmv123]

2481 has a really nice intake. Approach angle can be almost anywhere.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/40169