Third year's the charm - Team 3182 Athena's Warriors

[ZipTie3182]

Hello everyone,
I'm so happy I have something to post on here that we're proud of. This is our team's third season, and we finally have a robot that will work in all of its functionalities. I don't know if anyone remembers our rookie season in 2010 in Hartford but we were pretty much a paperweight on the field. Seeing our team go from that to this is amazing and I just wanted to share it with the community. FIRST is awesome.

Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy7a...e_gdata_player

Photos: http://team3182.org/shootertemp.html

This was just a test now that our shooter was completely assembled. We were just hooked up to a battery so there's no speed control on the wheels, hence the uncontrolled shooting. We have a camera tracking system and "easy button" functionality in the works. Our collector is just waiting for its motor in the mail so that's why we were hand driving it.

Happy week 6 everyone!
-Anna

[SenorZ]

A wise man at our kickoff in L.A. told me it takes 4 to 5 years to become a really "good" team. We're in our second year and after some lofty ambitions I understand what he meant. But you guys seem to have it together by yet 3! Congratulations!

[CalTran]

Nicely done. As stated, it does take a few years to get a hang of the competition. Heck, we're a fifth year team now and we're still getting a hang of it. XD A few questions, for your surgical tubing, how do you have it connected so it is a belt like structure? A lot of teams this year, us included, have opted to go for polyurethane cords because it is easier to melt together into a somewhat uniform contiguous belt. Secondly, is there any reason it was chosen not to direct drive your shooter? I couldn't tell the exact thing in the video, but it looked like either belt or chain. Both of those would require adjusting every so often to ensure how it is.
Anyways, great job! Good luck with the last week of season until Ship Day!

[Chris is me]

I still have fond memories of working with you guys in a 2010 qualification match. Your robot might not have been much but your team was enthusiastic, driven, and dedicated. My strongest FIRST memories, and the teams that leave the biggest impact on me, are teams that seem like they have every reason to give up, but never do. That was definitely you guys.

I'm highly impressed, but I can't say I'm entirely surprised. If I had to wager a guess from the outside, the team attitude brought you from there to here. Now keep it up!

[EricLeifermann]

Originally Posted by CalTran

A few questions, for your surgical tubing, how do you have it connected so it is a belt like structure? A lot of teams this year, us included, have opted to go for polyurethane cords because it is easier to melt together into a somewhat uniform contiguous belt.

It looks like yellow polycord to me and not surgical tubing.

[CalTran]

~25 seconds or so something about surgical tubing helping grab it. Maybe that was referencing something else.

[EricLeifermann]

Originally Posted by CalTran

~25 seconds or so something about surgical tubing helping grab it. Maybe that was referencing something else.

I didn't watch the video I just looked at the pics, but now watching the video I did hear the surgical tubing comment.

[CalTran]

Huh didn't look at the pictures..now that I do, I guess that answers part of my chain/belt question (It's chain driven.)

[ZipTie3182]

We did use polycord (that mention in the video is a misinformed parent ) We just used the connectors from McMaster to connect it rather than melting it together because it was easier.

We used chain on our shooter because we wanted firm mounting of our motors and it was a lot simpler with the way we designed it. Tensioning it is really important though and we definitely need some guards since our wheels go at about 3000 rpm. It takes seconds for them to slow down.

Chris, I hope we get a spot next to you guys again this year in Hartford. We did the last two years! I remember the plethora of teams we had in and out of our pit in 2010 trying to help us rebuild our frame (since it was a half inch over size limit and our wheel extended outside of our perimeter). Plus, its a bonus being next to a team that has a drill press in their pit!

To anyone who is discouraged about their team, don't let yourself get down. I've seen my team go from having a robot that barely moved (and I'm not kidding, we had keys falling out of gearboxes) to this year with a robot that is ACTUALLY GOING TO WORK. Don't lose hope, stick with FIRST!

I can't believe its week 6! Can't wait to see everyone is WPI and Hartford!
-Anna

[DominickC]

See you at WPI and the scrimmage on Saturday! Good luck!

[dellagd]

It seemed like you were pushing the balls into the turret but they were getting stuck at the entry. you might want to add some funneling sheets of plastic or pieces of aluminum to the top of the ball elevator so that not only do they funnel in nice, but the way it enters the shooter in more consistent. From the looks of it, the shooter was not moving at all, but the ball was landing + or - 6 feet in either direction of your target. Making sure the ball enters through the center of the shooter will make it much more consistent

This is espically important since you have a two wheel design, not four. This means that the ball is always going to want to slide off to either side of the wheel. With 4 wheels, the ball stays centered between the wheels so this isn't as big of a problem.

[FenixPheonix]

Very nice! More complete than ours, definitely. I second the idea about a funnel to guide it in. Having it centered will greatly improve the accuracy.

You might also want to wait a second or two between shots. The wheels you're using are quite light, and slow down a lot after a shot. Giving them a second or so to spin back up would help to improve consistency.

Good job, guys. Nice to see a team coming together.