New AndyMark Product Game Hint???

[D.Allred]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

Does $6 for a 2" wheel seem a bit steep to anyone else?
[EDIT: just saw how expensive the tear drop flex rollers are!!!]

Seen similar wheels on many 2015 robots for landfill tote gathering.

Not really. What's your alternative for this application?

I've seen team use something similar to the 4" flex wheel from McMaster (2497K12 for example). Those are $30+.

Another alternative was making your own roller from polyurethane tubing - which isn't cheap either.

David

[Ari423]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Looks like these would be fairly easy to modify by cutting the ring out and getting 6 point star.

True, but then they wouldn't be COTS. So they take manufacturing time and replacements, which will probably be necessary as they take a beating spinning at high speeds, will count against withholding. Also just the extra effort. Comparatively, I would rather pay an extra dollar or two per wheel/star to get a COTS 0.5" hex star than have to modify it. That's just me coming from a small team with limited manpower and manufacturing capabilities; I imagine for larger teams like 973 that is not a problem.

[BumblingBuilder]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

Does $6 for a 2" wheel seem a bit steep to anyone else?
[EDIT: just saw how expensive the tear drop flex rollers are!!!]

Seen similar wheels on many 2015 robots for landfill tote gathering.

A good "on a budget" alternative to these holed wheels is always the banebot wheel (orange or bue ideally, which are -/+ 5A of these wheels respectively). They worked well in 2015, so I can't imagine them not working well if we're getting rigid game pieces next year

[Munchskull]

Could just be me never having used the material but .425" seem like it would be fairly extreme for an interference fit.

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by Munchskull

Could just be me never having used the material but .425" seem like it would be fairly extreme for an interference fit.

I noticed that as well, but I'm assuming the AndyMark team found it was easy enough to use.

[Bob Steele]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Yes and no, they do appear to be waterjet out of sheet... and the material isn't that cheap. For low qty production the price seems about right.


[QOUTE]I never understood why they were made with a 0.5" square bore instead of hex. I imagine (with absolutely no real-world testing of course) these new wheels won't work as well as the entrapption stars for intakes of spheres, like the boulders this year because the stars can get more than tangential contact. I would love to see AndyMark come with with a v2 of the stars with a 0.5" hex bore just for ease of use.

We used modified entrapption stars that had hex bores to collect the frisbees from the floor in Ultimate Ascent... they worked quite well. We had a friend from Indianapolis make them for us. (Mike Trapp actually) He is a great guy by the way!! An unsung supporter of FIRST and STEM education.

[Oblarg]

This is arguably consistent with the ball-nonball gamepiece trend, if it is at all indicative of "rigid objects" being game pieces.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

This is arguably consistent with the ball-nonball gamepiece trend, if it is at all indicative of "rigid objects" being game pieces.

Balls can be rigid.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Munchskull

Could just be me never having used the material but .425" seem like it would be fairly extreme for an interference fit.

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

I noticed that as well, but I'm assuming the AndyMark team found it was easy enough to use.

Maybe 0.425" fits tightly on a Churro? If so, then it is even tighter on hex shaft stock.

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Balls can be rigid.

Most balls are not, though, thus my inclusion of the word "arguably"

[Hitchhiker 42]

The word "conveyor" seems to stir up something in my mind... Maybe those fragmented pieces of conveyor belts hidden all over the images they released in the DLC packs?

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

Most balls are not, though, thus my inclusion of the word "arguably"

This is what makes Chief Delphi great! Argumentation FTW.

Seriously, any particular game is not played with most balls. We'll get the selected balls, or none.

However, if we do get balls and they are rigid, then I really hope they are also very light.

[mr.roboto2826]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

Maybe 0.425" fits tightly on a Churro? If so, then it is even tighter on hex shaft stock.

.425" Seems about right for a "rubber esque" material. 2826 has used a material called linatex in the past which looks almost identical to what is pictured. We often had .125" to .25" of under sizing on our interference fit. I'm sure Andymark can enlighten me as to the actual material, but I', sure they tested if thoroughly.

[Nick Lawrence]

Originally Posted by Cothron Theiss

Ooh, this looks really nice. These wheels would be super helpful for intaking rigid game pieces. At first glace, I was concerned about the hex shaft turning inside of the hex, but .425 is a hilariously heavy interference fit. I do wonder if using Thunderhex with these wheels would pose any issues. I doubt it, but I can't really say for sure.

Emphasis mine.

We actually cut a bunch of samples over the summer in .025" increments to test this size, and found that .425" flat-to-flat is the right number for this specific profile and material combination. This number would change for a harder or thicker material, as well as a part with less holes in it.

-Nick

[billbo911]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Balls can be rigid.

The Nerf Howler is actually quite rigid!

Throw one and see if you hear a Steam Train Whistle!