Robot Cart Questions from a rookie team

[Kyle Love]

One word SIMPLE! We have this huge cart, nice in the pit, not nice to get to the field. I would just get an "off the shelf" lift cart like our little blue one. I'm almost sure you dont know what I am talking about but I will try to find a pic. and load it on here.

-KL

[Freddy Schurr]

Also, I would recommend that you don't start working on the cart until after the announcement of the game because the dimensions could change for the chassis or it could be an entirely something new and nothing like previous years aka like a water game or hovercraft game or something.

AND

Watch out for sharp edges, it has also happen to me and it HURTS and also make sure you watch out for tight areas because it would stink if you would have to take apart your robot cart just so it could fit in the doorway ( it also happen to us at home before packing for Pittsburgh)

[sciguy125]

If you don't use the kitbot:

wheel-less kitbot + handles + freshmen = short range robot cart

We were able to make something that fit our robot perfectly. It was used as a stretcher to get the robot from the cart to wherever it had to go.

[gburlison]

In addition to everything else that has been stated, remember the to pay attention to the height of the cart. Last year almost every robot had an arm of some type and as a result most robots were close to the max height of 5 feet. A few teams had carts that were 3 feet high to make the it easy to work on the robot. These teams had to take the robot off the cart and carry it through doors because the total was to tall. The pneumatic lift could be a good idea if it allows you to elevate the robot to work on it and lower it to fit through doors.

[EricH]

To get around the problems of changing width (even between robots with the same base dimensions, there will be some difference), team 330 has semi-adjustible rails on their cart.

Cart specs:
-About 2 ft high by 30" wide by 36" long without handle
-Front wheels are casters, back ones are fixed
-Handle separates from the rest for easy transport
-Wheels are air-filled
-There is a mat zip-tied to the frame to carry tools and an extra battery.
-Rails for holding the robot are held on by Allen screws. Loosen them to remove/slide 'em to fit the robot.

We do have the capability to turn the cart into a workstation, but the surface is a bit unstable. Plus you have to remove the robot, then put it back on. Plus we need a lot of pounding to add the extenders. Not exactly worth it for us.

[Wetzel]

Expect to go over the ramp things that they run cables through. 2 inch wheels will not cut it. Get large (6") wheels and your backs will thank you later. Not to mention the team queuing personnel will thank you for being able to move about quickly and easily.

Wetzel

[Scott team 48]

Another thing to keep in mind is not only being able to fit into the pit with your cart but to also be able to work in the pit while the cart is there, the pits are crowded enough without adding a cart in the middle of the aisle because there is no room to do work while in the pits. Probably also a good idea to make the top solid enough to work with your robot on top of it and an idea that has always worked for us is to have space to haul tools in case you make finals, its good to have tools by the field because as the finals come around things will break and there isn't enough time to take your robot back to the pit to fix it.

[Conor Ryan]

ok so we have a realllllly nice tool cart, one issue though, its too heavy to bring to competition unless you have the ability to transport it. Carts are large and bulky, so when it comes to designing them keep it light and possibly add a feature that allows you to take it apart and build it at competition

[RoboMom]

I second the suggestion to consider building a cart that comes apart. My favorite is the team with the two tool chests and a top table that all snap into place and can be easily broken down. During the off season, you may be hauling your robot to demostrations and you want to be able to easily transport in a variety of vehicles.
Also there is a team that built a new cart last year, not following a lot of the advice given above. It fit fine in the baggage hold of the bus, arriving to their first competition. But then a different bus came to pick them up and it had a smaller baggage hold and the cart did not fit , which created a long stretch of time involving backed up traffic and many debates. A real learning experience.

[JudyVandy]

After reviewing the thoughts above, my advice would be to follow the KISS principle: Keep It Super Simple. After you experience your first FIRST season, you'll have a better idea of what you need vs. what you want, vs. what you can do. If anything, go really light on the sound system. If you're too loud, the pit bulls get after you.

Seriously, a 'little red wagon' can do the job adequately, even though it doesn't look too cool.

[KenWittlief]

I seem to remember a rule at some regionals that you could not have motorized scooters or vehicles in the pit area, which would rule out any type of motorized cart

let your cart be an engineering project of its own. Decide:

1. What you want it to do (functions) with an eye towards the robot competition (as opposed to being a giant boom box or mobile light show)

then put together a brain storming session and decide

2. How to design the cart to do the "What"

[Adam Richards]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

I seem to remember a rule at some regionals that you could not have motorized scooters or vehicles in the pit area, which would rule out any type of motorized cart

If you're going to two regionals, and only one disallows it, wouldn't you only need to attach castors that can drop down to 1/4"-1/8" below the motorized wheels for manual pushing?

Also, if you weren't allowed motorized scooters or vehicles, your robot would be in violation of it if you ever put it down on the floor and turned it on.

[savage]

our team will be going in to our 3rd year with first and weve experinced that its hand to have a cart that you can work with your robot on it but its a hassel to lift a 130lb bot up 3 ft to the top of your cart and if you have a tower on your robot then you might have a problem getting through ad door which has happend to us.

also what might work is use a small biike lift on on a small cart that is now more than a foot off the ground that way you can get under it to work on it
but this all depends on the game, how far the event is away and how much money and time to spend so just try to keep it simple for this year and next seasion see what other teams have and then go all out on it

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by RoboMom

Even though many teams will say this doesn't matter, make your cart so it can fit through a regular doorway.... You will be surprised at how often you will need to do this, on and off season.
Also try to build so that you can work on robot on cart while in team queing. There is a lot of time spent queing....

And make sure that your cart and robot are shorter than a regular doorway. At the PNW Regional last year we had to walk our robot through two doors on the way to the arena. They had regular house-height doors.

[Timmyd]

if you want to see a great cart look at MORT team 11 in atl they were next to us in the pits and i could not believe how awesome it was all we had was an ever day dolly