Ball Retrieval and Chassis

[jcheehan]

For picking up balls, what are your opinions on using a chassis similar to Lunacy where many had a break in the frame or using an arm similar to last year to pick up the balls without changing the frame?

[LeelandS]

It seems to me that it would be more effective to have a break in the bumpers and have some kind of roller acquisition system than to use an arm/grabber mecanism, for several reasons.

For starters, it's a more passive system. With the roller acquisition system, you just need to drive into the ball and it is acquired. With an arm, you need to stop, and be very careful not to bump it. Then send your arm to acquire the ball, again being careful not to bump it on the way, then pick it up and deposit it wherever you want it (either in your storage area or right to the goal). A very careful, not to mention long, process.

Also, using an arm may require too much precision depending on where you are on the field. If you're on the other side of the field, aligning the ball to the arm may prove to be incredibly difficult. It also adds a measure of complexity compared to the roller style of acquisition. At least, in my opinion it does.

A Lunacy/Aim High acquisition system seems, to me personally, to be the much more effective way of going.

[jcheehan]

Yeah that makes sense. We're not picking up big tubes that don't move much. They're balls so they will be free to move. Thanks

[lcoreyl]

If you are going with a really wide roller claw from last year (like 118), then this could maximize the length of your collector (38" vs. 22" for a "hole in frame" method--2 ball lengths) The longer this is, the easier it is for your driver to pick up a ball. The trade off, of course, is it takes an extra mechanism to raise/lower this collector.