pic: Team 2220 Rebound Rumble Robot (week 5)

[DampRobot]

Will this intake system include a transport to the shooter? It looks like there is a fair amount of distance between the shooter and the system hidden behind the electronics board...

[Alex.q]

In regards to CAN, I believe we tested it on a test board that the programmers were using, but not on the actual robot yet. Can you elaborate on what we should waatch out for with the CAN?

Pneumatic Wheels: they compress with a lot of weight on them, so a center drop of .25 reportedly had too much scrub with the first version (6 pneumatics), hence the omnis. We hope that the short wheel base will help with turning only 4 pneumatics. As for reasons why we used them: traction, shock absorption for hitting the barrier, maybe more reasons.

Unfortunately, our supershifters still have the standard gearing so with 8in wheels, we go a bit fast. We are hoping to reduce this either with the optional gearing or a sprocet reduction to the wheels.

Originally Posted by DampRobot

Will this intake systrm include a transport to the shooter? It looks like there is a fair amount of distance between the shooter and the system hidden behind the electronics board...

The collector is basically a tower with belts that will feed the shooter.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Are you using the flux rings on the motors to protect the leads? I would advise against doing so for several reasons (wire damage due to chaffing, reduction in motor performance, etc.). PVC is a much nicer material for this application anyways.

[aeniug2]

Just thought of this now... Not entirely related, but I have to ask:
How do you use the aluminum extrusions?
Our team bought a whole bunch of it, but no one can seem to figure it out.
We have tried looking elsewhere on CD, but all we can gleam is that there is some sort of special connector we have to use.

We would greatly appreciate any help regarding this...

[Alex.q]

Originally Posted by aeniug2

Just thought of this now... Not entirely related, but I have to ask:
How do you use the aluminum extrusions?
Our team bought a whole bunch of it, but no one can seem to figure it out.
We have tried looking elsewhere on CD, but all we can gleam is that there is some sort of special connector we have to use.

We would greatly appreciate any help regarding this...

ARe you referring to the 80-20 we used on the shooter/electronics tower? 80-20 has connectors you can buy and we also used carriage bolts (squares right under head)that fit perfectly in the slot to mount the electronics panels. Let me know if you want more information on this and I can ask one of our mentors who know more about this to answer your questions. This is our first year using 80-20, so I am sure there are other teams that have more experience with it than we do.

[aeniug2]

I would love more information on it, thanks for offering.
Specifically, where to buy these fabled "connectors"...

[Alex.q]

I might ask one of our mentors to elaborate on this as well, but here is a link to the 80/20 webpage on different fasteners http://www.8020.net/Training-2.asp. I'm not entirely sure which we used.

[Siri]

Originally Posted by aeniug2

I would love more information on it, thanks for offering.
Specifically, where to buy these fabled "connectors"...

80/20 is nice for a lot of things, especially quick adjustments and sliding. Their slides are a little heavy, but you can make your own, too. It's heavy, though, and it can be difficult to keep things in place under shear load.

As for the connectors, you can look up distributors on 80/20, Inc, but we get most of our stuff through Grainger and MSC.

Short overview:
Most FRC applications I've seen and used employ 10xx profiles (1"), mostly 1010 with some 1020 (1012 is cool, too). For these and other profiles, 80/20 makes fasteners that slide into the T-slot slots or can be tapped into the center axis holes. Economy nuts are probably the most common and are used in tandem with other connectors. They're slide-able when loose and can be pretty fixed when the bolt is tightened. (You can indent it a little for the bolt tip so it doesn't move.) We also use corner brackets and gussets, end caps, anchor fasteners and the occasional joining plate, most of which have various versions (multiple holes, shapes, etc). Their rollers are also really nice, though you may want to mill your own brackets for them.

[aeniug2]

Wow. Thanks for all the help... Maybe we can even find a way to use some before build is over (unlikely though, as we have no connectors and shipping would take too long).

Sorry for taking the thread a bit off topic.

I'm sure we'll be using it either in some other projects or on next year's bot (probably both).

[Siri]

Originally Posted by aeniug2

Wow. Thanks for all the help... Maybe we can even find a way to use some before build is over (unlikely though, as we have no connectors and shipping would take too long).

Sorry for taking the thread a bit off topic.

I'm sure we'll be using it either in some other projects or on next year's bot (probably both).

No problem. Up to you of course, but it looks like you've got a supplier right by you. Air Engineering & Supply? Might want to check if you do need something.

Sorry, 2220. Great looking robot! My electronics guys will be even more upset with me when they see this...

[frasnow]

Originally Posted by Alex.q

In regards to CAN, I believe we tested it on a test board that the programmers were using, but not on the actual robot yet. Can you elaborate on what we should waatch out for with the CAN?

We had lots of issues with the CAN bus just completely locking up. In other words, all of the motors on CAN wouldn't function. During the 2011 build season we tested the individual motors on CAN, but we only tested the entire system on the last build day. There were indications of a problem prior to bagging the robot, but major issues at the regional. The robot would just freeze. By switching the drive motors to PWM, we could still drive, but our arm (on CAN) would lock up. Putting delays between the calls to the arm helped, but hurt our controls. We also discovered noise on the arm's potentiometer was another cause of the CAN bus locking up.

Other teams may have had better success and can tell you how to avoid the problems we had.