Designing a climbing mechanism for 2013... a humbling experience

[s_forbes]

After much hair pulling and uncertainty, I'm confident that we have a working solution that is reliable and will not accidentally drop our robot. We stay within the 54" cylinder with inches to spare and the mechanism looks like it will integrate smoothly with our shooting/pickup mechanisms. Now it is just a matter of detailing the parts.

This is definitely the most challenging thing I've ever had a part in designing in FRC. I'm hoping that the GDC doesn't expand the size limits mid-season like they did in 2011, I think the current rules force teams to come up with extremely innovative designs.