Sideways Hanging - Yes or No

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by T3_1565

EDIT: One thing that I forgot to mention, its would be much harder to topple the top if you hanging sideways at a low elevation (just about the platform say) also, the platform would supply an increased resistance to bending and breaking the bar. I think this is totally doable

The platform does not provide any structural reinforcement to the tower. It's a wooden box that rests on the tower's base plates with no connection to the vertical pipes. So don't expect that to save the tower.

Originally Posted by Wetzel

For SUSPENDED or ELEVATED robots? Can you cite what rule you are talking about? Not to mention that 12 inches is 12 inches, no matter how you lift. (And 12 inches is not the 18 to ELEVATE)


Wetzel

18 inches isn't the 20 inches needed to elevate either. Don't confuse the tunnel height with the platform level.

Originally Posted by Swampdude

To re-iterate my point of having a 250lb + cg that's as much as 4-6' away from the SIDE of the tower. If you have a 130lb bot 4' tall but in horizontal position (Meaning your base has over 120 lbs in it and its suspended 4' from the side of the tower) Then another bot hooks on to your base adding another 130lbs and also shifting the cg even further from the tower (then possibly even a 3rd bot hooks on), I can almost guarantee the tower will fall over and it could bend the pipe depending on design and how the bots climb on (bouncy etc.) I doubt the tower structure weighs more than 50lbs and only has an 18" plate sticking out? But 250-370lbs of bots hanging 4+ feet away will topple it. I'll be surprised if they don't nix the idea. Maybe I'm wrong.. we'll see...

I will agree with you that hanging lots of robots off of other robots can be a dangerous endeavor in many ways. I'm having difficulty believing that anyone is going to design a robot that is capable of suspending 250+ lbs of robots at a 6' lever arm from the side of the platform. That's a very serious moment to put on any part of one of our robots.

More to the point, I'm seriously doubting that you can flip the tower before you fail the vertical pipes. Flipping the tower is going to require applying that huge moment to the tower somewhere. Which is going to be transmitted through the vertical pipes. Which are going to break if you put that kind of moment on them. Plus, there's the ball return which is going to resist your efforts at flipping the tower. So... I think worries about flipping the tower are a bit less immediate than worries about breaking it.