FRC488 Pneumatic Catapult

Originally Posted by militaryrobot

Great idea ! How do you guys plan on keeping the ball stationary when an opponent hits you?

I think they could implement a feeding solution that holds the three balls until they are absolutely ready to be fired, so they aren't in the catapult yet if they get hit. When they want to fire it loads the ball into the catapult. I imagine they'd ideally be shooting from the key, where they won't be in danger of being hit without the other team taking a penalty.

As far as exactly what this would look like, imagine the ball return at a bowling alley. Put this on the back of the robot facing sideways toward the ball holder on the catapult. Balls roll up and drop out into the catapult.

Another option would be to turn the upper surface of the catapult arm into a trough/tube for balls to roll down and into the launcher, where a large enough lip would prevent roll-back. The ball holder/feeder would dump balls into this trough/tube at the fulcrum (or really anywhere on the arm above the launcher) when the arm is in the down and "reloading" position.

I hope those explanations make sense . I can clarify if anyone is confused.