Robot Weight

[AlecMataloni]

Where's the "drill enough weight holes so we're barely under 120lbs" option?
;-)

[MrForbes]

We're shooting for making the "upper" part of the robot as light as possible, and we're not concerned about the bottom part. But we'll make sure it's less than 120 on bag day

[Jon Stratis]

It might not be a bad idea for a team to make their robot weight adjustable. Have some way to increase/decrease your weight by ~1 lb increments so you can match your alliance partners. "Our weight is adjustable. Robot A goes in the middle, we'll go opposite robot B and we've already calibrated our weight to 117lbs to match". Say that to a potential alliance before eliminations, and it could sway them to picking you!

[crimsonjake]

Another thing that could play a factor (a very, very small factor) would be the unequal distribution of weight upon each wheel.

i.e. the front of the robot has more weight on its wheels than the back.

Just to keep in the back of your mind!

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by crimsonjake

Another thing that could play a factor (a very, very small factor) would be the unequal distribution of weight upon each wheel.

i.e. the front of the robot has more weight on its wheels than the back.

We'll definitely do this, we will rearrange where things go to keep the center of mass centered between the front and back. Side to side is not too much of an issue....since we're planning a "wide" robot.

[Taylor]

As we understand this game, it's about speed. We'll keep our robot as light as possible. With a 35x27 frame and 8" wheels, we ought to be able to 'spin' on the bridge and change our orientation to perpendicular to the bridge, allowing our partners to climb up on the ends.

[Flimsor]

We'll be shooting for lower than 120 but you always seem end up at the limit.

[DarkByakko]

Our team is on the fence with this. Assuming the majority of the teams competing are shooting for a weight near or equal to 120 lbs, we're more comfortable trying for a heavier bot due to the inevitable fact that if there are more heavy bots competing, a light bot would be pushed around.

We had this problem in the last competition, wherein our bot was lighter than the others, and the other heavier bots tended to push ours right out of the way.

It's a hard decision to make; sacrifice endurance for speed, or increase the weight for steadier shooting at the cost of a slower robot.

We're aiming for 120. That way since most teams are around that weight, it'll be easier to balance the bridge. Only thing now is to start drilling holes! Actually, we may come in a littl under this year. We'll then need to pack on extra stuff to get to 120!

[MrForbes]

We're aiming for 120 and on course for 130

Bare frame, pretty much complete with all the mounting brackets for everything, is 27 lbs.

[Mr. Rogers]

We're at 118 lbs, but a few small components still need to be added. That's too bad, now we'll have to water jet our logo out of some parts of the robot.

[davidthefat]

Our drive alone is 86 lb... I am worried...

[Grim Tuesday]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

Our drive alone is 86 lb... I am worried...

That is actually something to be worried about. Ours was ~65 last year, and we had dual layers of T-Slot and tubing, along with 8 idlers and tank treads. This year, we're down to ~50, after beginning the transition to sheet metal construction by water-jetting our side panels out of 3/16th plate. What are you guys doing that requires 86 lbs? Unless its two drive trains for going X and Y, you might want to get out the drill.

[davidthefat]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

That is actually something to be worried about. Ours was ~65 last year, and we had dual layers of T-Slot and tubing, along with 8 idlers and tank treads. This year, we're down to ~50, after beginning the transition to sheet metal construction by water-jetting our side panels out of 3/16th plate. What are you guys doing that requires 86 lbs? Unless its two drive trains for going X and Y, you might want to get out the drill.

I warned everyone about it, but they went with the 14 inch wheels. In order to support those 14 inch wheels, one of our mentors had to make a brace for the sprocket. In order to chain them up, 4 big metal plates are required for the gearboxes. It is slow, sluggish and cumbersome. It was designed to to over the bump, but it flips over.

[Hawiian Cadder]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

That is actually something to be worried about. Ours was ~65 last year, and we had dual layers of T-Slot and tubing, along with 8 idlers and tank treads. This year, we're down to ~50, after beginning the transition to sheet metal construction by water-jetting our side panels out of 3/16th plate. What are you guys doing that requires 86 lbs? Unless its two drive trains for going X and Y, you might want to get out the drill.

I second this, our 2012 robot was 78 lbs with the drive-train, and while making weight wasn't all that hard It was very limiting to us and caused a lot of stress. I would try to cut weight wherever you can, learning from last year we managed to got our 2012 robot down to 51 Lbs without any worries about structural strength. If you need more than 30LBS for a frame, you are doing something wrong.