[DFTF] Bumper Tips...

[Joe Johnson]

This is part of a series of posts called Drinking From The Firehose on getting Dr Joe back up to speed on All Things FIRST.



Today's topic:
Bumper Tips

Bumpers are old hat to all ya'll but I've never had to design and build a set from scratch.

We've put one on our practice chassis (yeah, we're a rookie team with a practice chassis... ...you got a problem with that? ;-)

But I am not happy with the results.

Let me start by saying our robot this year is a 27"X37" rectangle -- a very simple Frame Perimeter.

I am THINKING that we will make a 1 piece bumper (a boxy skirt that drops on from above... ..Well, we'll make 2, one red, one blue).

Is this a dumb thing to do?

How do folks attach the noodles to the board? Zip ties seemed a good idea in principle but it didn't come out great on the prototype.

Would it be legal to fill the space defined by the noodles and the plywood with "great stuff" (or some other foam)?

Is there a better way to make this work?

Oh, I am planning on having the robot chassis tightly integrated to the bumper, each giving the other strength. So... ...keep that in mind when you make suggestions (and feel free to comment on that idea too)

So... ...All things bumper.

Have at it.

Joe J.