Best Inbounder Qualities?

[1493kd]

I agree about the strong drive for the inbounder. It is the one thing I wish we would have done diffrently on our robot this year. We can human load super guick by tossing it in robot and in the few chances it comes out our pickup is really fast and effective. But with Mecanum drive we can get pushed by teams with good drives and good drivers who can stay on us. If you are taking 30 seconds to get free and make a pass or truss shot that is wasted time.

Robots with 2 intakes can add some diff strategies for the loader. Such as load/kiss pass in one quick motion. Or sandwhich the duel intake bot between the other two bots and make a pass through the bot in the middle zone of the field to set up 3 assists very quickly.

[SkittlesCharge]

Some things an inbounder should have in terms of defense:
-Pushing power
-Tall to block shots (Not necessarily goalie height though - think more like full court shooter blockers from last year)
-Low center of gravity so you don't get tipped
-Practice defending *THIS IS KEY*

[Dan_Karol]

the relationship between the midfielder and in-bounder can vary wildly. In most cases mid fielders will want the ball from the in-bounder exceptionally quickly at high levels of play. There are many teams who will feel stressed out if the in-bounder takes more then a second or two in possession of the ball.

Take a look at the teams selected by both 1114 and 254 as their ideal in-bounders at their most recent events. They were low in the ranking system and didnt add much to the ball advancement other then super fast possessions. these qualities will be more in demand in the coming weeks. If you can align your robot with these playing styles you could do quite well.

[Answer42]

I would focus on you drivetrain and driver practice to be honest. From what I've seen in California regionals the third robot/ inbounder is most effective when they receive the ball and then immediately pass it to the trussing bot, without any driving involved. Then they go back to playing defense until the next cycle starts. You can't really beat the effectiveness of that kind of immediate hand-off for quickly getting the first assist on the ball.

So with that in mind, making sure your robot can receive a ball from the back and immediately pass it out the front is pretty desirable. Not sure what kind of drivetrain you have, but I would highly consider upgrading to original versa-wheels. Their grip is unmatched, even if they do wear down fairly quickly. If you have a practice robot drive it until the wheels fall off, then drive some more. If not, consider building just a drive base and weighting to accurate robot weight. Provided that's in your resources of course. Make sure your driver is aware of all penalties and able to play effective defense without incurring them. On that same note be careful of anything that sticks out of your frame perimeter. Given today's update rough defense just got a lot harder to play. Make sure your human player won't ever get a g40. Practice practice practice.

But that's all just my two cents. Good luck and have fun at worlds.

[JohnFogarty]

Originally Posted by Answer42

I would focus on you drivetrain and driver practice to be honest. From what I've seen in California regionals the third robot/ inbounder is most effective when they receive the ball and then immediately pass it to the trussing bot, without any driving involved. Then they go back to playing defense until the next cycle starts. You can't really beat the effectiveness of that kind of immediate hand-off for quickly getting the first assist on the ball.

So with that in mind, making sure your robot can receive a ball from the back and immediately pass it out the front is pretty desirable. Not sure what kind of drivetrain you have, but I would highly consider upgrading to original versa-wheels. Their grip is unmatched, even if they do wear down fairly quickly. If you have a practice robot drive it until the wheels fall off, then drive some more. If not, consider building just a drive base and weighting to accurate robot weight. Provided that's in your resources of course. Make sure your driver is aware of all penalties and able to play effective defense without incurring them. On that same note be careful of anything that sticks out of your frame perimeter. Given today's update rough defense just got a lot harder to play. Make sure your human player won't ever get a g40. Practice practice practice.

But that's all just my two cents. Good luck and have fun at worlds.

Were using an AndyMark 6CIM Single Speed gearbox powered kitbot.

We're considering switching to Colsons for World gathering that we can modify the wheels to work with the belt hubs. If not, we'll have several sets of the high-grip 4" wheels for championship.

We actually won Orlando using the exact strategy you mentioned. So that makes me feel good that someone else considers this strategy of play to be an effective inbounder skillset.

[Kevin Leonard]

Most of all- above most of this other stuff, a smart drive team who knows when to play defense, when to be an inbounder, when to hold on to the ball and when to give it up.
You can have the best robot for the role, but if your drive team can't get the ball where it needs to go and can't play defense when and where it needs to be played, your team will lose out to some team with a more effective robot for the role who has those things.

[Answer42]

Originally Posted by JohnFogarty

Were using an AndyMark 6CIM Single Speed gearbox powered kitbot.

We're considering switching to Colsons for World gathering that we can modify the wheels to work with the belt hubs. If not, we'll have several sets of the high-grip 4" wheels for championship.

We actually won Orlando using the exact strategy you mentioned. So that makes me feel good that someone else considers this strategy of play to be an effective inbounder skillset.

It's fantastic that you guys are happy to play that role.

As far as mounting colsons with the kitbot. This document:

http://content.vexrobotics.com/vexpr...ive-System.pdf
Explains how you could replace the KOP wheels with vex pro wheels and pulleys. Since they use the versahub mounting pattern, I assume you could swap in http://www.wcproducts.net/colson-hub/ in place of the versawheels, to mount your colson wheels onto. Good luck with your preparations.

[JohnFogarty]

Originally Posted by Answer42

It's fantastic that you guys are happy to play that role.

As far as mounting colsons with the kitbot. This document:

http://content.vexrobotics.com/vexpr...ive-System.pdf
Explains how you could replace the KOP wheels with vex pro wheels and pulleys. Since they use the versahub mounting pattern, I assume you could swap in http://www.wcproducts.net/colson-hub/ in place of the versawheels, to mount your colson wheels onto. Good luck with your preparations.

Those links get me a lot closer than I thought. The lack of mounting holes on both sides of the colson hub sort of make me wonder. The lack of any mounting holes on the live axle colson hub make me worried even more.

[jwfoss]

Originally Posted by JohnFogarty

Those links get me a lot closer than I thought. The lack of mounting holes on both sides of the colson hub sort of make me wonder. The lack of any mounting holes on the live axle colson hub make me worried even more.

Would it not be possible to run the chains or belts both on the same side of the wheel and move all the wheels outwards? As for the center wheel with the live axle option, switching to something like the hex broached belt pulleys or hex broached sprockets should solve the problem.

[JohnFogarty]

Originally Posted by jwfoss

Would it not be possible to run the chains or belts both on the same side of the wheel and move all the wheels outwards? As for the center wheel with the live axle option, switching to something like the hex broached belt pulleys or hex broached sprockets should solve the problem.

Ideally yes, but they dont carry a 42 tooth hex broached pully option. So chain might end up being the way to go.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by JohnFogarty

Ideally yes, but they dont carry a 42 tooth hex broached pully option. So chain might end up being the way to go.

Just slap a VersaHub on a VersaPulley?

[JohnFogarty]

I'm looking into everything we'll need right now. I think that's the option I came down to as well. The only thing I'm seeing is that versahubs usually go on wheels with mounting holes that go all the way through them. ie....versawheels and such. Is it perfectly okay to drill through colsons?