Weight Issues?

[team1852]

Hello,

My team is having a problem incorperating ramp & platform ideas such that we are still under the weight limit. I was wondering if other teams were having such problems? I know its kinda early for weight consideration but ... better worry about it now than week 6.

[Gabe]

Oh, yeah. It will be crazy trying to stay under weight and also do everything, which is what we're trying to do.

[dtengineering]

If you don't have weight issues, you have either discovered anti-gravity or have overlooked something.

The weight limit is ALWAYS a constraint, and the fact that you are worried about it now means that you won't be worried about it on Thursday at your first competition as you try to pass tech.

I have seen teams... and not just rookie teams, either... show up 30 pounds overweight... and still get stripped down to 120 in order to compete on Friday with lots of GP and assistance, of course... but they did not need that hassle.

Please, please, please everyone... find a reliable way to weigh your robots and stress over something else on Thursday.

Jason

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

Please, please, please everyone... find a reliable way to weigh your robots and stress over something else on Thursday.

Jason

Keep an excel chart of EVERY piece of your robot. Even wire and bolts (you can calculate 100ft or bolts then divide if your scale is not accurate).

Or, at least get a decent bathroom scale to weigh on.
Also, don't put the robot right on the scale.... seems like common sense but we have a scale that is now +/- 5 pounds accurate because of this.

[sanddrag]

Ebay is a great place to get cheap digital shipping scales.

For your ramp frame, I'd suggest 1x1x1/16" wall thickness aluminum tubing. Pretty light, and still quite strong. Get it TIG weld it together if you can. Contact local welding shops and colleges to see if they can do it for you at no cost. For the surface, corrugated plastic is pretty strong and not too heavy. You'd want to make it anti-slip somehow though.

[65_Xero_Huskie]

If you are having trouble losing weight, I suggest swiss cheezing your robot.

Weve had to do it numerous of times

[MrForbes]

Think about what parts of the ramp or platform actually need to be there, and which parts don't. Perhaps there is quite a bit of unused surface, that wheels will never contact, that can be removed from the design. Also, look at pictures of bridges.....specifically rickety old railroad bridges

[Justin M.]

Last year we were about 20 pounds underweight, so we didnt have a problem. But this year, we will be using the full 110lbs. with a 5ft robot. We just got a shipping scale, and I'll be making sure the bot gets weighed as it comes together. If it gets too heavy at any certain point, then at least we know that it needs to be taken care of.

[billbo911]

Originally Posted by Gabe

Oh, yeah. It will be crazy trying to stay under weight and also do everything, which is what we're trying to do.

Gabe, you nailed it.
That is why I continually remind our team and the rookie team we are mentoring., "Decide to do one thing and do it well. Anything you can do beyond that is a bonus!"

[robotguru1717]

Thats the main problem we are facing. We have a excel sheet where we are weighing each part on a scale and entering the data. Every piece is weighed, pneumatic tubes, bolts, EVERYTHING and chassis specs are given a rough weight through Solidworks. Right now in our 120 limit we are looking at about 87 lbs not including any part of an arm which isnt CADed yet.