Official Team 2526 Robot Model!!

[RyanJK]

Hey guys, here is the design of our robot made up in Inventor. What do you think? This is our rookie year, so all criticism, suggestions and questions are welcome! Here are links to all of our views! (I can't figure out how to post a photo!)

http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p...onTopview1.jpg

http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p...nsideview1.jpg

http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p...omatoniso1.jpg

[wilmo]

does it stay within the 80in cylinder rule?

[RyanJK]

80in. cylinder rule? I can't find that, what's the rule number?

[Drwurm]

R16 says that your robot must fit within an 80 inch diameter cylinder at all times during the match.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by RyanJK

80in. cylinder rule? I can't find that, what's the rule number?

<R16> is the number...But the cylinder is not part of the rule; the measurement is point-to-point on any part of the robot.

[edit] Jason and Ryan, note that the cylinder part is in parenthesis and is preceded by "e.g.", which means "for example". Q&A clarified that it was an example and not the rule last week.[/edit]

And to post pictures on CD, go to CD-Media and there should be a little link that says "upload" under "Photos" (generally, all images). There are some restrictions, mainly file type and size.

[Drwurm]

Here's the exact rule

<R16> Once the MATCH has started, the ROBOT may assume a PLAYING CONFIGURATION that
exceeds the size dimensions specified in Rule <R11>. While in the PLAYING
CONFIGURATION, the ROBOT may expand up to a maximum horizontal dimension of 80
inches (e.g. all parts of the ROBOT must fit within an imaginary 80-inch-diameter upright
cylinder). There are no height limits for a ROBOT in its PLAYING CONFIGURATION at any
time after the start of the MATCH.

[RyanJK]

Thanks for mentioning that, We just measured out our robot and such, and it should be able to fit that rule as long as we don't deploy the full arm to pick the trackball up. Thanks!

[laultima]

I would think about reinforcing that arm. Arms that are only one piece of chassis metal thick can be prone to serious swaying, anyone know saw us in Silicon Valley knows what Im talking about.

[Cowmankoza]

1. From the looks of your grabbing mechanism, they would violate rule R05 which states that teams must prevent harm to game pieces from sharp points or pinch points, which seems to classify the end of your grabber.

2. Will you fit in you starting dimensions, the grabber looks far too wide

[Kat Kononov]

I really like the way you're actuating your claw. It's a really good design and it looks reliable. Like everyone said, just make sure you're within 80" and reinforcing your arm. It looks great.

[RyanJK]

So, I've been reading rule <R16> and I was wondering, our arm has the capability to go past 80 inches because we need to be able to lift a trackball up to the overhead platform. We don't plan to extend our arm past the 80 inch limit horizontally, but is our arm illegal anyway because it can go past 80 inches?

[Cowmankoza]

Theres no height restiction, only a length/width restriction, the 80" rule applies only to horizontal dimensions

[vhcook]

If you can go past 80" horizontally, but never do, you're ok per this Q&A answer http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=8181. If you can restrict it in software, that would be wise, so that you can easily demonstrate compliance and to prevent mistakes in the heat of competition.

[JHSmentor]

I had a similar idea as this for herding the ball rather than picking it up - but one challenge to be aware of is that the overall width and length of the robot must not exceed robot limits at the starting position (28" x 38" I believe). Once the match starts then you can deploy your mechanism to be larger than that.

then, of course, you have the 80" rule that others have mentioned.

Other than that, I really like your design.

[Daniel Bathgate]

Make sure you understand how the pneumatic system works. As rookies last year, we designed an arm that bears a strong resemblance to yours, but didn't realize that the pneumatic cylinders can be either all the way out or all the way in, not stopped in the middle with the provided parts. We came up with a hack that used two solenoids per cylinder to achieve midpositions, but we had major control problems and ended up having to remove our arm. The cylinders you have also look undersized to me; I have doubts they will be able to hold the arm and trackball up.

That's a really cool design, just avoid making the mistakes we made with pneumatics.