Team 4488 Shockwave Introduces: Wildfire

[Thad House]

Team 4488 Shockwave is proud to present our 2014 robot: Wildfire




Reveal Video

Specs:
100 lbs
28.5” Wide x 27.25” Long x 30” Tall
6WD WCD using WCP gearboxes and 4” VEX wheels and belts – 10.5 FPS
Over bumper feeder - pneumatically actuated – 775 powered
Surgical tubing catapult powered by choo-choo technology
775 through 60:1 VersaPlanetary then using an 18:84 reduction – cocks in < 2s

PNW Oregon City District Results: 11-1 Qualifications, #1 Seed, Winner, Chairman’s

We will also be attending:
PNW Wilsonville District
PNW District Championships
Hopefully World Championships

Link to high resolution image.

Check us out on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ShockWaveTeam4488
Team Website:
http://glencoerobotics.com/

[Nebster]

That is one amazing looking robot. Congratulations on your success!

[JFKinator]

This robot is amazing looking and seriously fun to watch. Congrats on the chairman and we will see you in Wilsonville!

[Navid Shafa]

They were the best robot at Oregon City and will be one of the best in the PNW District System this year.

They have the most refined RI3D/JVN clone bot I've seen. Being able to fire with the collector retracted is a major plus. Smart playing last week, great HP truss shots, great teamwork, great defense.

They walked out of Oregon City with 2 banners last week and the stats to back it up. A Chairman's as a second year team is huge. They are ranked 1st in current PNW standings and still have another district before PNW Champs.

They made my Top 25 this week, did they make yours?

[DampRobot]

How are the VersaWheels DT performing and wearing? Would you recommend them over the regular VersaWheels or another type of wheel?

[Mr V]

Certainly one of the best looking robots I've seen so far in the PNW district. I'm sorry I didn't get to see any of your matches but look forward to seeing it play at the PNW DCMP.

[Jean Tenca]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

How are the VersaWheels DT performing and wearing? Would you recommend them over the regular VersaWheels or another type of wheel?

We played 19 matches in our first event. There is noticeable wear on the drive wheels but the feeder wheels are still looking great. We plan on rotating a few and swapping a few. On the plus side, they give us noticeably better traction than previous FIRST tires we've used. They were also a lot easier to use and maintain than custom wheels with tread. I think we'll be using the DT wheels again next year. I'd be happy to let you know more at the end of the season once we've thoroughly abused these wheels

I'll note that we stayed away from the regular W pattern VersaWheels because we were worried about the rate of wear. If your team has the budget to swap out wheels regularly then these might be a great option for you due to the extra traction.

[Darren Collins]

I have only been able to see your robot in action online, but was completely inspired by what I saw. The form and function of your machine is truly impressive. I'm eager to see you in Portland next month!

[Mr. Lim]

Hi Saw this robot mentioned by a fellow mentor in the FRC Top 25 thread. He called it our long lost fraternal twin!

We had a group of students push forward with a surgical tubing choo-choo based catapult till very late into the build process. It was an excellent shooter, but we ultimately had to make a decision, and the final robot ended up with an also excellent cam driven spring powered one. It's always difficult when one idea has to be chosen over another, but because of their work, we had two very strong catapult options to choose from instead of one.

I love being able to show my students robots which are similar, but which took the alternate design paths that we couldn't. It helps validate all the hard work that didn't end up on our final robot, and that's really important.

Congratulations on the amazing year so far! I know for a fact you've got at least a few fans here on 610 who are looking forward to seeing this robot at champs.

[jsasaki]

Very impressive! Actually one of my favorite robots so far!

[Travis Hoffman]

You can never have enough 4's and 8's in a team number.

Nice job!

[AdamHeard]

One of the best robots this year so far. Very impressed with your performance. Performance at that level requires not just a good robot, but a good team in all other aspects.

Also, it's sad/hilarious (but typical) that you missed FRC "Top" 25. You guys are easily top 10 in the teams that have played thus far. The driver is clearly smart and great at getting through stuff. I added your matches to the playlist of videos for my drivers to review.

[kajeevan]

How many pounds are you pulling back on the shooter? Also are you only using 1, RS-775?

[Thad House]

Originally Posted by kajeevan

How many pounds are you pulling back on the shooter? Also are you only using 1, RS-775?

I think there is around 200 lbs worth of surgical tubing at full pull. We are only using 1 RS-775 through a 60:1 VersaPlanetary. It has plenty of power, and draws about 25 amps while pulling back.

[Monochron]

I'm actually interested in knowing a little more about your team than your robot.

You are a second year team right? How did you get the ability to powder coat your metal? Did you scout for a potential sponsor who would do that for you? What made you decide to go with your own chassis and drive train, most second year teams stick to the KOP version for simplicity. Did you have a mentor who was very confident in building it yourselves? It looks like that design took some CAD work, if so how did you get your students that proficient in CAD in only 2 years?

Looks great by the way. Solid performer and even solider image