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Unread 23-02-2012, 15:15
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Robot Cart

Between the transition period between bag and tag, and competition my team wants to build an all around cart design with wheels such as pneumatic. I have been tossing some ideas around but I can't seem to get any good ones. If possible does anyone have any ideas or CAD drawings for me to bounce ideas off of?
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Unread 23-02-2012, 16:49
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Re: Robot Cart

As a general tip, you should have some sort of platform that lifts the robot up for easy accessibility. Our team uses a special scissor-lift that brings the robot to a comfortable height, and we have crossbars that "jack up" the bot so we could test the drivetrain and put our hands underneath. Think about reusing the cart for years to come as well. Robot shapes and designs change, so make your cart adjustable and give it the ability to hold bumpers and other large items. Most importantly, your cart should be maneuverable and compact enough to fit through tight spaces (use swiveling casters, etc for wheels). We found this out the hard way when our original cart was too wide and too tall to fit through the doorway! Be creative, but be sure to follow the cart rules too (sadly, no music allowed on the cart).
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Unread 23-02-2012, 17:16
Cal578 Cal578 is offline
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Re: Robot Cart

My advice is to keep it simple. The two most important things it should do are:
  • Carry the robot between pits and field, and back.
  • Give you a safe and productive work surface.
Everything else is gravy.

Keep it small enough to fit in the pits and allow people to work around it. Locking wheels are helpful (but make sure all students know how to lock and unlock them). Swiveling wheels on one end and straight wheels on the other work best. And a handle at waist height for easy steering and pushing or pulling. Ropes are not so good, but better than nothing if you have a low-to-the-floor cart.

I've seen some teams with scissor lifts or pneumatic jacks. Sometimes I'm jealous, sometimes I'm glad we have a simple, solid, flat, dependable, safe surface.

Shelves and drawers are nice for carrying the operator console, bumpers or covers, some tools, spare battery, etc.

If you're using pneumatics and an offboard compressor, the cart is a good place to keep them (with a battery for the compreesor). Even if your compressor is onboard, you're allowed to pre-charge your tanks.

No matter what, it should be a fun project to work on, now that the pressure of build season if off.
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Unread 23-02-2012, 20:52
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Re: Robot Cart

We have this cart: http://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-...ble-94822.html
It is ~$150 and is easy to raise the height
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Unread 23-02-2012, 21:08
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Re: Robot Cart

Don't forget space enough for a camping chair or folding chair of some sort as well as room for your bumpers, both sets.

Also include some basic power system, aka power strips properly rated, for your laptop, chargers for batteries and etc.

The last thing I'd add would be a cooler with water or something similar. I know some regionals are tight on food and water brought in but when the heats on, gotta keep cool.
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Unread 23-02-2012, 22:31
Cal578 Cal578 is offline
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Re: Robot Cart

Quote:
Originally Posted by rhodes View Post
We have this cart: http://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-...ble-94822.html
It is ~$150 and is easy to raise the height
We looked into getting that exact cart, and decided the surface was way too small. We felt it should be bigger than the robot; i.e., more than 28x38". The actual size of our cart is about 36x48", so it is a nice work surface.
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2016 Finger Lakes Regional: Semifinalist on Alliance 7 (1128, 2010, 578)
2016 NYC Regional: Finalist on Alliance 3 (3419, 578, 3017), 4th seed team, Team Spirit Award
2015 Finger Lakes Regional: 8-3-0 in qualification, 7th seed, Quarterfinalist
2014 NY Tech Valley Regional: 8-4-0 in qualification, 13th seed, Semifinalist
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Unread 23-02-2012, 22:35
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Re: Robot Cart

Our team's cart is simple, just a folding cart fitting with a solid base of wood and some nice handles. If there was an improvement I would make on it, it would be a place to hold the driver's station. Our driver often has trouble carrying our station (which is very fancy custom acrylic and aluminum) through the crowded pits. If you can get both of those in inexpensively, I'd say it's mission accomplished.
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Unread 23-02-2012, 22:52
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Re: Robot Cart

Quote:
Originally Posted by gracie. View Post
Our team's cart is simple, just a folding cart fitting with a solid base of wood and some nice handles. If there was an improvement I would make on it, it would be a place to hold the driver's station. Our driver often has trouble carrying our station (which is very fancy custom acrylic and aluminum) through the crowded pits. If you can get both of those in inexpensively, I'd say it's mission accomplished.
You wouldn't happen to have a picture of it would you? This is exactly what our team wants to do.
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Unread 23-02-2012, 23:08
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Re: Robot Cart

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlacksmithWoods View Post
You wouldn't happen to have a picture of it would you? This is exactly what our team wants to do.
oh no! we'd never thought to photograph the cart, so i don't have one, but it's basically this thing on the left :
http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/po/...828d0n_27.jpeg

except it has longer handles, and an attached wooden base of FIRST robot dimensions. You can slide it back and forth between a dolly and a cart for the robot. The handles are just long enough the prop the driver's station on if necessary to wheel it around, but like I said- we haven't really fixed that problem yet. hope that helps.
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Unread 23-02-2012, 23:49
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Re: Robot Cart

Pneumatic tires might seem like a good idea until you get to a competition and have a flat. Some of those small ones are difficult to inflate, and if you get a real leak in one, they don't roll too well. I'd stick with something that doesn't need to be inflated.

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Unread 24-02-2012, 00:27
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Re: Robot Cart

Remember your cart needs to fit through a standard 36" doorway.
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Unread 24-02-2012, 00:30
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Re: Robot Cart

You could look into getting an AndyMark cart and customizing it.
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Unread 24-02-2012, 11:41
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Re: Robot Cart

We have an aluminum platform cart with a removable handle.

Attached to the deck are two 8020 cross bars. On top of those are two longerons. On the longerons are posts that support the robot. By adjusting the locations of the longerons and posts, we can fit the cart to each year's robot. The height of the posts are set so the robot just clears a standard doorway. If necessary, the posts can be trimmed or swapped out to increase or decrease the robot height.



As shown in the pic, the crossbars and longerons also make a convenient place to stick stuff when working on the robot.



The cart design is evolving. Last year the height was great for standing and working on the robot, but we couldn't go through doors. This year, we dropped the post height to fit through doors, and the robot ends up at the perfect height to work on while sitting in a chair.

Next step is to add stowage for the operator console, tools, and water for competitions. We had stowage for bumpers last year, but may leave them off the cart this time.
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Unread 01-03-2012, 21:02
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Re: Robot Cart

^^
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Unread 01-03-2012, 22:13
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Re: Robot Cart

I totally agree with keeping it simple, as long as the robot can be transported on the cart and is able to be suspended on the robot with stability
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