pic: Wheels and gearing

[Wayne C.]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Looks good. Is torsional stress a concern at all with so many close holes? Also, how much does that arm weigh (and what does this weight include).

it will not twist- we've done these before. And the holes are an art.

the whole arm weight is 10 lbs without motors. We are looking at 20-30 lbs for the manipulation device that will accompany it. The weight distribution will heavily be located in the base within 4 inches of the floor.

WC

[Ianworld]

now thats quite the impressive tower you've got there. How are you lifting it, and how are you connecting your manipulator to the top tower?

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Wayne C.

it will not twist- we've done these before. And the holes are an art.

the whole arm weight is 10 lbs without motors. We are looking at 20-30 lbs for the manipulation device that will accompany it. The weight distribution will heavily be located in the base within 4 inches of the floor.

WC

What material (size and thickness/wall) are the arm "segments" made from?

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Wayne C.

it will not twist- we've done these before. And the holes are an art.

the whole arm weight is 10 lbs without motors. We are looking at 20-30 lbs for the manipulation device that will accompany it. The weight distribution will heavily be located in the base within 4 inches of the floor.

WC

Am I reading this correctly when I interpret it to say that your manipulator alone will weigh between 20 and 30 lbs.? That's amazing.

I'm trying to make our arms weigh less than that in their entirety, manipulators included.

[Wayne C.]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

Am I reading this correctly when I interpret it to say that your manipulator alone will weigh between 20 and 30 lbs.? That's amazing.

I'm trying to make our arms weigh less than that in their entirety, manipulators included.

you misread- we still have 20-30 lbs to meet limit without the manipulator mechanisms. The bulk of that will be in motors in the lower section no doubt. But this will be a very simple design that will do the job.

The material is aluminum- heavily cheesholed for weight. We are very fortunate to have some great help from our guys at Bristol Myers and they know how to get these things done.

BTW- if you search out our 2000 robot you will see similarities on how this is done. Note the uprights on that machine. Making a tower like this is no secret but making one well is the tough part.

WC

[Mike Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Max Lobovsky

I like how you isolated the precision components (side plates for gears) from the less precision stuff (the main structure). I thought it was kind of a bad idea how your gearbox was esstentially the side of your robot last year (at least thats what I remember.)

I disagree it wasn't a bad idea seeing as it was designed as a Modular Gearbox to be quickly removed and replaced incase of a catastrophic failure (we had one spare complete with tires and side plates)