pic: MSC Winning Alliance Robots

[Chris Hibner]

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[Mark Jones]

That is a very sexy looking trio Congratulations on your Regional win.

[AlexD744]

That's a scary looking trio, I'm sitting staring in awe.

[Andrew Schreiber]

THIS is why you don't mess with Michigan, 3 former champions, one alliance. When this happened my jaw dropped, it shows just how deep a field MSC had, that 65 would still be around as a 3rd pick is simply stunning.

[AlexD744]

I just realized you guys (217) changed you shooter since the end of build season. I just saw TBA photo. Which shooter did you have at Midwest?

[Paul Copioli]

We haven't changed our robot shooter design since we put it in the box. The hood on the shooter can move from 45 degrees back (to shoot over a robot pinning us) to as shown in the picture to do a high speed dump. We made only one change during practice day at Midwest and that was to change our rotating drum from belts to brushes (thanks 177 via JVN).

[AlexD744]

O wow it looks completely different with hood up and down. Nice innvention, I wish that was possible with our bot, we could've scored about 20 more points when we were being pinned at the end of one of our matches. But I think the design of our robot would make that very difficult (and cost too much wieght).

[The Cyborg]

To teams 67 and 217: Your robots are absolutely amazing. Sleek design, flawless execution, and incredible drivers/coaches/human players. It was an honor working with you guys at State Championships.

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by Paul Copioli

We haven't changed our robot shooter design since we put it in the box. The hood on the shooter can move from 45 degrees back (to shoot over a robot pinning us) to as shown in the picture to do a high speed dump. We made only one change during practice day at Midwest and that was to change our rotating drum from belts to brushes (thanks 177 via JVN).

Did you end up getting the brushes from McMaster that we used or did you source them elsewhere?

[Paul Copioli]

The only way I could even find them on McMaster is with your exact part number that John gave. He made sure I knew that he got the part number from you guys.

We used the 5" nylon brush version with the PVC backing.

They turned our helix that sometimes would jam to a ridiculously fast delivery system.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Peter Matteson

Did you end up getting the brushes from McMaster that we used or did you source them elsewhere?

Originally Posted by Paul Copioli

The only way I could even find them on McMaster is with your exact part number that John gave. He made sure I knew that he got the part number from you guys.

We used the 5" nylon brush version with the PVC backing.

They turned our helix that sometimes would jam to a ridiculously fast delivery system.

Would you guys mind sharing said part number? I can't tell you how long I've spent searching on mcmaster for brushes this year.

-Brando

[Paul Copioli]

The exact part numebr we are using is 7410T36 from the McMaster online cataolog.

[Peter Matteson]

We found it by searching for brush seals, like the type used to keep out a draft on an overhead door.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#brush-seals/=1cuctt

We ordered a couple versions early in our prototyping to see what jammed the least and still imparted enough force on the balls.

[sdcantrell56]

Just search for strip brushes on mcmaster. We made the same switch after carefully examining 148's video and it improved our helical feed system dramatically. We are using the metal backed variety simply due to cost reasons and they work perfectly. Thanks 148 for the inspiration!!

Also congratulations to 67, 217, and 65, you guys were a truly scary alliance. I hope to have the chance to play with and against ya'll at the Championship.

[JVN]

Originally Posted by sdcantrell56

Just search for strip brushes on mcmaster. We made the same switch after carefully examining 148's video and it improved our helical feed system dramatically. We are using the metal backed variety simply due to cost reasons and they work perfectly. Thanks 148 for the inspiration!!

We went through a LOT of iterations on the spiral. Very early on I suggested we use brushes after remembering 236's 2002 robot. I remembered that machine (named "Dust Buster" if I'm not mistaken) used a series of brushes to elegantly and smoothly roll soccerballs through a spiral. After MUCH searching we could not find a brush that we liked.

Our original design utilized lexan "fingers" coming off our nonagon spinner, but after one spectacular jam we went back to searching for brushes. (You can see the original fingers in our unveiling video.)

177 was kind enough to help us in our search. (I spent HOURS on McMaster trying to find a good brush, and never found the one they showed me.)

Paul heard we were having great success with the brushes and asked me for a P/N. I hooked him up.

It is awesome to see how inspiration can propagate through this program in interesting ways. It is also great to see the willingness of teams to share and help each other.

Kudos to 236 for inspiring 148, and for 177 for helping us find the right direction.

Design is (still) an iterative process...
-John

Edit:
Found it... 236-2002
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/13825