pic: 696 Unveiled!

[sanddrag]

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[sanddrag]

well, what do you think?

[R Stephenson]

looks great. but how does it handle with all that weight on top?

[Nica F.]

are you planning to drive up the ramp at the end of the match?

[sanddrag]

All what weight at the top? This is one of the lowest CG designs I think I have seen. The vertical tubing is 1/16" wall and the PVC is thin wall. The basket is probaly 4 pounds. With it's wide track width, it handles superbly. And yes, we plan to (and will) get on the platform at the end of the match.

One interesting note is that the axes of all the drive wheels lie in the same plane (by design, not by mistake).

another interesting note, is that the shifting drive system has incredibly little backlash - a programmer's dream (although this one was by mistake).

[Arefin Bari]

Nice design, I like the chassis.

... I hope you guys didn't paint your team number bright green and put it on the the top to distract other robots on the field.

[rappo]

It's not paint... and it's not illuminated... so it should be fine

We did the same colors last year, too.

[chaoticprout]

Look awesome, can't wait to see you guys in LA!

[mechanicalbrain]

You embody KISS thumbs up!

[devicenull]

Originally Posted by Arefin Bari

Nice design, I like the chassis.

... I hope you guys didn't paint your team number bright green and put it on the the top to distract other robots on the field.

We had to *try* to find the green target last year.. anything you can paint on a robot is going to be no contest to the glowing green target.. THere is nothing to worry about there.


1) Nice saftey equipment (Catchers mask, it looks like?)

Its nice.. very simple. Which is a good thing... didn't you have problems with the balls binding in the top area? We noticed that when two of them were rubbing together, they were hard to seperate.

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

All what weight at the top? This is one of the lowest CG designs I think I have seen.

177 will challenge you for lowest CG. See the pic we posted. We have to tip more than 70 deg to go over in any direction.

[Nitroxextreme]

very nice design...cant wait to see it in action

[Donut]

Did you manage to get it handling the ramp okay? I saw it tip multiple times on the ramp today during practice, usually because the robot would stop on the slope.

It drives well though, and I like the movable shooter aimer.

[sanddrag]

Hello from the beautiful Phoenix Arizona!

The tipping you witnessed today was the result of a poorly coordinated functions test. We excel at climbing the ramp. In the practice round, we wanted to try it multiple times so we had to go down. We are unstable going down, but we are good going up. In the real match, we won't be coming down.

The potential for tipping is due to the fact that we drive wide and short. But, it is an absolute dream to drive. Incredibly maneuverable. Wicked fast in high gear. Goes dead straight when told to. I helped design the drive system, and it even surprises me how smooth it is.

We'll see you tomorrow. Donut, I want to meet you.