|
|
|
![]() |
|
|||||||
|
||||||||
![]() |
| Thread Tools | Rate Thread | Display Modes |
|
#16
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Quote:
|
|
#17
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Is there any prolonged effect of the polyethylene buildup on the shooter wheels even after scraping it all off every match? How often are we all going to have to replace our shooter wheels?
From testing shooter prototypes in the snow, even a little bit of ice or water buildup reduces shooter speed far more significantly than I ever would have thought. |
|
#18
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
We have not seen this in our testing either. Our compression is fairly low so that could be part of it.
|
|
#19
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
QFT. If you can get a student who's excited about maintenance in your pit, the'll make sure it gets looked after between each match.
|
|
#20
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Quote:
|
|
#21
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Acetone doesn't dissolve polyethylene. Benzene may dissolve the wheel as well.
|
|
#22
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Quote:
Isopropyl alcohol as a cleaning method rather than a solvent may help with removal a little, but really Elbow Grease and Friction are the way to go here. |
|
#23
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Our shooter is a gravity fed double wide 4 inch stealth wheel "fly wheel". The ball compression created by the fly wheel is less than 1/4 of an inch. WE have found that the build up is due to the quick ball acceleration. The issue we ran into is once the residue build up hit a certain thickness it began to peel off some ball would hit that bare spot on the fly wheel and be sent much farther than ones that hit a residue covered section. We attempted to calibrate our shooter with the build up, but we ran into that issue. So, we will just dedicate a team member to sand our flywheel after every match to clear up our issue.
|
|
#24
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Quote:
|
|
#25
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
To remove the film off a smooth wheel, first cut across the film with a sharp knife or razor. Then you can probably peel it all off easily.
|
|
#26
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
You might try varying the compression of the ball in your shooter.
The material you see is probably a result of the wheel spinning on the surface of the ball. It is also evidence of a certain amount of inefficiency in applying energy to the ball due to this slippage. We found that by increasing the compression slightly, not only was the residue reduced, but we shot further and with more reproducibility. Compression is really key in getting your shooter to work consistently. It is worth experimenting with small changes to see what happens. |
|
#27
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
You're using a petroleum-based (mostly) aliphatic FUEL and you're surprised that it leaves a lubricating film? Today MUST be Groundhog Day.
|
|
#28
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Same here, though we'll be looking out for it now...
|
|
#29
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
For everyone mentioning compression, is this a pretty constant compression throughout the contact arc? And if so, are there any teams trying out a gradual increase or decrease of the amount of compression? That might help with all sorts of things.
|
|
#30
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Re: Fuel leaves behind a thin film
Quote:
I recall that in '06 we were consistently shredding the surface of the Nerf balls with our shooter wheel. We thought that decreasing the compression would help, but it made the problem worse... increasing compression was the answer. Note that if you have a buildup of plastic from the fuel that means that you are removing the PE from the fuel... thus damaging a field element. If you are removing so much plastic that you need to clean your shooter wheel every match, then you are likely violating the "don't damage the field" rule. Jason |
![]() |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | Rate This Thread |
|
|