pic: FRC971 Spartan Robotics Presents: Renegade

[Nuttyman54]

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Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. This thing is just AWESOME! I expect no less from former world champions, but this is still just awesome! Great job 971! You always make some of the best machines in FIRST each year, and this year is no different!

See you in SVR!

P.S. Robot unveil video soon?

[kevincrispie]

We also worked to make new wheels this season, to complement the new drivetrain.

Tread is attached via zipties.
Wheels measure around 2 inch wide and 3.5 inch tall w/ tread.

Thank you to RC for machining these. They turned out great (so far).

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by SuperNerd256

P.S. Robot unveil video soon?

Not for Sacramento, unfortunately. I'll try to do a pre-SVR or pre-Champs video. They only finally captured footage for a video at last night's driver practice, but they weren't able to get it to me in time to edit it down. I still don't have it (I still haven't even seen this thing run in at full capacity!). If there's no webcast of Davis, I'll make sure we release something before SVR.

[Akash Rastogi]

That is such a clean and beautiful design. You folks always inspire me with your sheetmetal work, and this is no different.

A couple questions:
1. That gearbox orientation looks really nice, would you mind posting a picture of the gearbox/internals of your drive?

2. What OD and ID tubing is that on your structure and why did you use that this year?

3. Any issues with balls jamming in the hopper/conveyor?

4. The entire robot looks incredibly light, what was your final weight and what was your method of conserving weight? How much pocketing went into your structure and what material thickness is used around the whole bot?

Looks incredible, thank you for such a beautiful machine. Best of luck in Sacramento.

[Gray Adams]

At one point during our season I was thinking about an under the bumper intake based on all the reports of balls getting stuck under robots, but I wish I thought more about an over bumper design. That would leave so much more space for electronics and simplify the frame.

[James Kuszmaul]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

That is such a clean and beautiful design. You folks always inspire me with your sheetmetal work, and this is no different.

A couple questions:
1. That gearbox orientation looks really nice, would you mind posting a picture of the gearbox/internals of your drive?

2. What OD and ID tubing is that on your structure and why did you use that this year?

3. Any issues with balls jamming in the hopper/conveyor?

4. The entire robot looks incredibly light, what was your final weight and what was your method of conserving weight? How much pocketing went into your structure and what material thickness is used around the whole bot?

Looks incredible, thank you for such a beautiful machine. Best of luck in Sacramento.

1) Not sure where to find pictures of it (there probably are some lying around somewhere), but basically we have a 2-speed transmission using compact pistons from Bimba. It is a two-stage transmision, so it is relatively small, and we were able to orient the CIMs such that they are over the center wheel, out of the way of the electronics.

2) It is 1.5" OD 1/32" wall tubing. We are using it because it is rigid and light.

3) Seems to be working reasonably well. I haven't been at the more recent drivers practices, and I usually don't stay very late, so I can't say for sure.

Originally Posted by James Kuszmaul

1) Not sure where to find pictures of it (there probably are some lying around somewhere), but basically we have a 2-speed transmission using compact pistons from Bimba. It is a two-stage transmision, so it is relatively small, and we were able to orient the CIMs such that they are over the center wheel, out of the way of the electronics.

2) It is 1.5" OD 1/32" wall tubing. We are using it because it is rigid and light.

3) Seems to be working reasonably well. I haven't been at the more recent drivers practices, and I usually don't stay very late, so I can't say for sure.

The recent driver practices have shown the robot works excellently! 971 is going to be a strong contender at SAC and SVR. IMO It will win them both, as the alliance captain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS3n9...6fFAAAAAAAAOAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK2et...47FAAAAAAAAPAA

[BJC]

I really like the way this robot serializes balls, I'm going to have to keep that in mind for future games.. and the rest of the robot is pretty awesome as well.

Good Luck this year!
Regards, Bryan

[rcmolloy]

Evan,

Saw this beauty a few weeks ago and I really like what you guys did. Scott seemed very excited about being behind the sticks yet again and I am sure he will go out with a bang this year. Can't wait to hear how you preform this week in Sacramento! Good luck!

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

That is such a clean and beautiful design. You folks always inspire me with your sheetmetal work, and this is no different.

A couple questions:
1. That gearbox orientation looks really nice, would you mind posting a picture of the gearbox/internals of your drive?

Thanks for the compliments Akash, the team is really proud of this one. This is the best picture of the transmission I could dig up is here.

There may be some better pictures that surface later, but the whole thing is buttoned up pretty tight, so it's a little hard to see what all is going on inside.

I don't know the final weight offhand (one of the students can probably weigh in on this), but this is a nice picture of our driver, Scott, holding up the frame with one hand.

[Dan_Karol]

That is one good looking, and sounding, robot. I really like the speed and control you appear to have in the driving videos.

good luck at your competition.

[tzjin]

Elegant indeed! Everything is super streamlined, though I'm a tad confused about why you feel a need to cool your CIM's that much. Your new wheel design looks really great as well; zipties make for a pretty nifty way to replace tread.

I look forward to seeing you guys at SVR! It's going to be a fun year competition

[kevincrispie]

Originally Posted by tzjin

Elegant indeed! Everything is super streamlined, though I'm a tad confused about why you feel a need to cool your CIM's that much. Your new wheel design looks really great as well; zipties make for a pretty nifty way to replace tread.

I look forward to seeing you guys at SVR! It's going to be a fun year competition

Same!

We cooled the CIMs in a similar manner last year. It helps us practice longer and drive longer, really. The motors get quite hot. The way our driver drives, you would want fans on the CIMs.

here's a link to last year's discussion
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...8&postcount=18

The extended runtime is useful when we have a high match turnaround (practice rounds, elims, etc)

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by tzjin

I'm a tad confused about why you feel a need to cool your CIM's that much.

Edit: See Kevin's comments above.

The team noticed in 2010 (the first year we ran with these speeds on the driveline) that during the quick turnarounds in eliminations, the motors started to get quite hot, and became much less efficient. I believe they were noticing battery voltage drops towards the end of every match. The driveteam took to fanning the motors between each match. They added the fans after the season, and saw a measurable improvement, especially at demos. Our robot last year used the fans as well, and they feel it's been very beneficial. Somewhere on CD is another post explaining this (by either Austin Schuh or Scott Bahl, IIRC).

I think that's all correct. One of the students could probably answer this better, but I think they're all busy packing and driving to Sacramento right now. I'm sure they'll add more detail later.

As a long distance mentor, I don't get involved in all the details of the robot, although I do know most of it. I've challenged the students this year that by the time they get to Championships (the only tournament I can attend with them) that they all know more about the robot than I do. Most of them are already there .