pic: 72 lbs so far.

[Bruceb]

Are those 1.5 inch pistons? If so, I think you have way overkill and a smaller piston would lift a lot quicker. Otherwise, looks like a great bot. Wish I had thought of a pneumatic lifter. I like the roller guides on the back.
Bruce

[klmx30302]

Do i see a piston driving a piston driving a piston x2? You're going to need so many storage tanks...

[IndySam]

Three stacked cylinders, just the kind of pneumatics I love. You can achieve 9 different levels of lift.

You could lift 200lbs with that setup. The good thing is they can run them at reduced pressure and still have more than enough lift.

Also if the long cylinders are only used for something like the occasional floor pickup, the air can be stretched even further.

I would be more inclined to put the big cylinder on the bottom.

[maltz1881]

If Joe had his way there would be even more!!! **** said as I walk away shaking my head!!**** I will admit when I have watched it in motion it flys!!

[klmx30302]

Just one more thought, you might want to get one of the newer compressors that move 20% more air and have about 1/2 the weight of the old ones. We bought one last week (still waiting for delivery) the model is the viair 090c, here is a link to the only place that sells it that has decent information: http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...con/00090.html

[Alex Cormier]

Originally Posted by klmx30302

Just one more thought, you might want to get one of the newer compressors that move 20% more air and have about 1/2 the weight of the old ones. We bought one last week (still waiting for delivery) the model is the viair 090c, here is a link to the only place that sells it that has decent information: http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...con/00090.html

Slightly cheaper here.

[klmx30302]

Originally Posted by Alex Cormier

Slightly cheaper here.

Found that also, just posted the other link because that is where our team ordered from. We ordered the new compressor because of its increased air movement, but mostly because the 2 pound less it is is 2 pounds of lead we can put where ever we want to help balance the robot if necessary (or just save 2 pounds). And the only reason I mentioned it was because that setup looks like it will use a huge amount of air. Just counted and there's 9 pistons on that chassis, I am glad our bot only uses 3 (1 for manipulation, 2 for minibot deployment).

[joeweber]

1 Inch cylinders would have worked but the lift was sticking randomly and I wanted to make sure that it would not stick durring competition. Start position is floor pick up and bottom row delivery, the 4 in cylider gives us human delivery, the 4 plus the 8 gives us the center row, and 4 + 8 + 12 gives us the top row with the push of the button. I will use as many tanks as I gan get. Too bad I don't have a few of the new tanks.

[BJC]

I'm willing to bet that the wheels sticking out of the frame on pistons are to line up to the base of the tower before minibot deployment. Very Cool.

[sanddrag]

What are the Vex wheels for?

[D.Allred]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

What are the Vex wheels for?

Looks like a centering device to align the robot with the tower.

[hg273]

Originally Posted by klmx30302

Just one more thought, you might want to get one of the newer compressors that move 20% more air and have about 1/2 the weight of the old ones. We bought one last week (still waiting for delivery) the model is the viair 090c, here is a link to the only place that sells it that has decent information: http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...con/00090.html

A word of warning. We ordered the new compressors and ran them through a series of tests against the old ones. We found that the new ones move significantly less air than the big thomas ones. We've decided to use the Thomas compressor on our robot, because we need more air. Essentially, the specs that they give come from the compressor running at 13.8 volts, when you scale it down to the 12v that we can give it, then the CFM drops.