Use of Lead Screw

[MechEng83]

1741 used a lead screw on our robot for logomotion. We actually used a 5 helix screw that went up 1/2" per revolution. When running our initial tests it was described by several team members as "scary fast" however, we were plagued by our shuttle binding which would burn out the FP motor. We eventually solved the issue by increasing the driven sprocket diameter by a factor of 2.

We had about 32" of travel with a 42" screw that could be traversed in under 2 seconds, but that speed would jam our mechanism at the top and especially bottom, so we used a profiled motion curve to ramp down the speed near end of travel.

While I think our design could be improved upon, my recommendation is to look at another path. With a 6 week design and build process, there are easier ways to lift your shooter.