Servo for Shooter?

[sg763]

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place as this is my very first post! My team is relatively new to FRC and we are trying to building a semi circle for the shooter this year. We seem to have it working pretty well. The only thing we need to tackle next is a "flipper" that pushes the frisbees into the shooter (up until now we've been feeding the frisbees in by hand). We were thinking of mounting a servo onto this flipper and were wondering if anybody had any suggestions as to what type of servo (or other mechanism) we could use? Thanks!

[EricH]

The servos we have available in FRC aren't quite up to that task, I think--not enough power. You could try using several working together, but that gets complicated in a hurry.

On the other hand, you did get a window motor in the KOP; those are fairly good "high-power servos" if you program them to run for a very short time on a Spike relay. A short-throw, small-bore, pneumatic cylinder may also be a good option.

[ravindran555]

If you only want to push the Frisbee straight, I would recommend using a pneumatic Piston. If you don't have any pneumatics on your robot, then maybe a servo would be easier for you to implement.
Taran

[z_beeblebrox]

The rookie team that we are working with was testing using a servo to feed their shooter today. It seems to work. My team is using pneumatics to maximize power and consistency.

[Orion.DeYoe]

Originally Posted by EricH

The servos we have available in FRC aren't quite up to that task, I think--not enough power. You could try using several working together, but that gets complicated in a hurry.

On the other hand, you did get a window motor in the KOP; those are fairly good "high-power servos" if you program them to run for a very short time on a Spike relay. A short-throw, small-bore, pneumatic cylinder may also be a good option.

Yeah you're going to be pushing it on power if you try to use a servo. I would recommend a window motor or pneumatics. Another thing to consider is that if you can give the frisbee a little starting momentum then it will make your shooter that much more efficient (all the more reason to go with a more powerful motor).

[EricPalmatier]

You could always use an electric solenoid with some sort of lever attached. I know several teams are giving that a shot, and it can give you the flip you need without needing to go overboard with a window motor or adding all the extra weight and complexity of a pneumatics system ( assuming you don't already have pneumatic systems on your robot).

If you DO have pneumatics on your robot, then I would say go with a small pneumatic cylinder. can't beat it for speed/weight/force combination! Good luck!