[FTC]: Concrete?

[Andrew Remmers]

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant...30&top_cat=197

One 2"x 2"x1' bar is 13 lbs and costs $35. Relitively doesn't cost that much. And for me 13 lbs is about 1/2-1/3 of the wieght of any FTC robot I have ever built, this could very easily be used for balast by integrating it into your frame.

(whereas concrete is easily shaped into any form, unlike steel)

I do see this, but in order to mold the concrete into a usable form they may or may not have the ability to do so, so buying smaller chunks of steel and adding their collective wieght might serve as a better system of balast than a custom block of concrete. That bar can easily be cut into "washers" and just put onto the robot in smart locations based on size.

Also a point, as concrete is hard but it chips like crazy consider this is not in a safe part of their robot, I don't think I would like to be vacuuming the feild every time they played against an agressive driver. Could a Robot do this? Who knows, I'd much rather not find out.

- Andrew

[DonRotolo]

I see your point Andrew.

Of course, 60 lbs of concrete costs about $2.85, and that weight is without the water. You can cast it in a cardboard mold backed by sand to keep it from moving. Wrap it in duct tape (or cast it in a milk jug or similar) to avoid any bits flaking off. You can even cast in a way to bolt it to the robot frame.