pic: MVRT115 Broken Arm

[Ashwin]

loading photo ...

[Darkforces]

Man that bites same thing happened to us as well, luckly we had another, hope you guys get it fixed in time.

[David Brinza]

Well, at least you've got the FIX-IT window opportunity before 5pm Friday. You might consider a more robust REPLACEMENT part (i.e.,steel). It looks like a small, but apparently highly-loaded part on your robot that needs more beef...

[115inventorsam]

No worries, we got it under control, that section of the arm was replaced before ship with something stronger, we can worry about other things. But that caused a lot of panic when it broke.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

I've seen a lot of "stick arms" recently. It would seem to me, that a robot with a long arm with a manipulator sticking out in front would be at a serious risk.

What happens when someone rams the manipulator? All the force from the other robot is magnified by the length of the arm into the bearings. Even a small force at the end of the arm would be enough to seriously twist things.

Obviously I'm missing something since so many teams (including some of the pros) are building these. 20 odd teams can't be wrong!

Not bashing your design... Just curious...

[scottyh2006]

First case of arms brake this year. more to come.

[David Brinza]

If you can keep your arm within the 28x38 envelope (within the bumper zone) while you are driving with a ringer to the rack, you are protected by rule <G35>. It's when you are picking up a ringer or are placing it on a spider that the arm is vulnerable. Of course, it's possible to damage the arm in autonomous or by driving into another robot, the rack or player station wall.

The relatively "flimsy" arms are to be expected. This year's game elements are a lot lighter than the dreaded tetras from "Triple Play" or the doubling balls (and hanging your 120 lb. robot) in "Raising the Bar". Teams that have ramps and manipulators on their are going to design the lightest arms possible.

[Matt H.]

Our team went with an arm which sticks out in front of the robot. We recognize that this puts our arm at significant risk of damage, but we have done several things to remedy the problem. Our arm is made of a material with enough flex to move out of the way if impacted near the tip and our arm mount is designed to slip rather than break if impacted.

[115inventorsam]

Of course it is a problem, and we have taken certain measures to try to reinforce the arm and the manipulator.
Also, we will be prepared in case if the arm or the manipulator does get knocked out.