701 Practicing Breaching Before CVR

[bEdhEd]

Here is a video of breaching practice that we did today.

[Valkonn]

You guys always have some of the best driving skill, keep it up!

[Mechvet]

Very nice.

Your bot goes over the rock wall VERY nicely. What pressure are you running your wheels at? Also, is that rock wall the right height? We're running a similar drive base (6x pneumatic 8" tires) and our rock wall crossings are a little... bouncy.

Might also be the speed. I think we're hitting it at ~9fps or so?

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Mechvet

Very nice.

Your bot goes over the rock wall VERY nicely. What pressure are you running your wheels at? Also, is that rock wall the right height? We're running a similar drive base (6x pneumatic 8" tires) and our rock wall crossings are a little... bouncy.

Might also be the speed. I think we're hitting it at ~9fps or so?

I can get back to you on pressure when I can check. I'm certain all our defenses are built correctly, but this can be checked as well. One contributor to the way we cross the rock wall is the fact that our wheels are fairly close compared to most other 6 wheelers. This is why we're so wide. The wheelbase is very short in the forward to back direction.

[Ginger Power]

I love how you assume a tortuga on the ramparts. At least that's what it looks like. Seems like you're well on your way to doing a solo breach.

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Ginger Power

I love how you assume a tortuga on the ramparts. At least that's what it looks like. Seems like you're well on your way to doing a solo breach.

Haha we weren't assuming a tortuga. We had 6 defenses on the field and needed to eliminate one so we chose ramparts since we already had the moat. The tortuga'd robot cart was there as a barrier to keep our driver from accidentally going over the ramparts.

[Ginger Power]

Originally Posted by bEdhEd

Haha we weren't assuming a tortuga. We had 6 defenses on the field and needed to eliminate one so we chose ramparts since we already had the moat. The tortuga'd robot cart was there as a barrier to keep our driver from accidentally going over the ramparts.

Makes sense! If you were going to assume a tortuga, I think you picked the right one.

[Mechvet]

Originally Posted by bEdhEd

I can get back to you on pressure when I can check. I'm certain all our defenses are built correctly, but this can be checked as well. One contributor to the way we cross the rock wall is the fact that our wheels are fairly close compared to most other 6 wheelers. This is why we're so wide. The wheelbase is very short in the forward to back direction.

That would definitely help! We've got right around 11" axel to axel, are you guys running even tighter?

Seriously good looking driving, props to the students running that.

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Mechvet

That would definitely help! We've got right around 11" axel to axel, are you guys running even tighter?

Seriously good looking driving, props to the students running that.

Yes our axle distance is tighter, at a short 8.75" spacing from center to center.

Our current drive system operator is Ryan, who has been training since 2014 and had his first chance at driving in live matches in 2015, where he drove for 3 regionals up to finals in each one, as well as getting to playoffs in our championship division as alliance captain. Ryan has a lot of experience and I am confident that he and our drive team will deliver consistent high level competitiveness to the regionals we will attend, and hopefully we get to champs again. Their eyes are set on Einstein for sure.

[Doug G]

Originally Posted by Mechvet

Very nice.

Your bot goes over the rock wall VERY nicely. What pressure are you running your wheels at? Also, is that rock wall the right height? We're running a similar drive base (6x pneumatic 8" tires) and our rock wall crossings are a little... bouncy.

Around 15-18 psi on the outer and about 25-28 psi on the centers. We were running lower psi, but found the higher psi results in less bounce.

[SenorZ]

Breach or die.

[Mechvet]

Originally Posted by Doug G

Around 15-18 psi on the outer and about 25-28 psi on the centers. We were running lower psi, but found the higher psi results in less bounce.

Thanks for the info!

[Cothron Theiss]

So I see your intake arm moving slightly as you go over the various defenses. It almost looks like the arms' movement is helping you guys keep balanced and level, which contributes to why you guys look so smooth crossing the defenses. So here's my question: is the arms' movement due to just inertia and am easily backdriven motor, or do you have a gyro or some mechanism automatically controlling the arms to help with balance, or are your drivers doing this manually?

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Cothron Theiss

So I see your intake arm moving slightly as you go over the various defenses. It almost looks like the arms' movement is helping you guys keep balanced and level, which contributes to why you guys look so smooth crossing the defenses. So here's my question: is the arms' movement due to just inertia and am easily backdriven motor, or do you have a gyro or some mechanism automatically controlling the arms to help with balance, or are your drivers doing this manually?

I've had the same thoughts on the arm helping with balance. What I actually think it does is act as a shock to keep the robot chassis from tipping too much in either the forward or back direction. The energy for the chassis to tip is lost and transferred in the arm popping motion.

The arms are easy to backdrive and are assisted with gas springs, as well as a set of plate springs on the intake which aid in the pivoting motion used for the CDF and portcullis. The gas springs on the competition robot are stronger, and don't move as much, but does the same thing.