Building the Element

[jvriezen]

We built the team pyramid for the Rochester, MN kick off with a few modifications from the plan..

We used EMT instead of black iron pipe. We made the joint plates a bit bigger and use conduit clamps instead of U-Bolts (much cheaper than U-bolts and we also got the EMT and clamps donated by our electrical supply house sponsor.

We also found that if we removed the top goal, and six of the horizontal rungs (on opposing sides) what is left are two A frames -- these fit through a standard commercial doorway (not sure of the door way dimensions but it was the school cafeteria doors. Now the big pieces are stored in the schools maintenance area. Not sure when we'll be putting it back together.. We'll probably build a mock pyramid with just essential elements that we want to use for climbing.

[protoserge]

Originally Posted by jvriezen

We built the team pyramid for the Rochester, MN kick off with a few modifications from the plan..

We used EMT instead of black iron pipe. We made the joint plates a bit bigger and use conduit clamps instead of U-Bolts (much cheaper than U-bolts and we also got the EMT and clamps donated by our electrical supply house sponsor.

We also found that if we removed the top goal, and six of the horizontal rungs (on opposing sides) what is left are two A frames -- these fit through a standard commercial doorway (not sure of the door way dimensions but it was the school cafeteria doors. Now the big pieces are stored in the schools maintenance area. Not sure when we'll be putting it back together.. We'll probably build a mock pyramid with just essential elements that we want to use for climbing.

How does it "feel"?

[jvriezen]

Originally Posted by stinglikeabee

How does it "feel"?

Our EMT based pyramid was unwieldy to build (we built for rung squares, and then added the legs, then the goal assembly. to add the goal we screwed it from below into the goal tray. When we used a clamp as a 'hook' to hold the goal down while screwing the structure flexed and pieces moved about 3" or more from their rest position. I wouldn't want to hang a robot (full weight) from the middle of a low rung and it will flex a lot, it not deform.

We used screws to attach the legs to the 2x4 wedge pieces -- we should have pre-drilled with a long bit because some of them started to split...