pic: All folded up

[NOV8R]

loading photo ...

[Stuart]

love the diamond plate.

[DanDon]

That diamond plate must make for one EXPENSIVE robot.

[lukevanoort]

9 feet long? Wow, thats huge! What are you planning on to power the unfolding?

[NOV8R]

The 64:1 banebot gearmotors ( one on each ramp) driving lead screws drive each ramp over center where they fall to the carpet. The big ramps fall is cushioned by a "pool noodle" and the small ramp by dense foam. Works great but you don't want to be in the way when they deploy.

[DonRotolo]

Watch out for crosswinds!

Very nice. How much does it weigh??

Don

[NOV8R]

75 LB minus the electronics

[JulieB]

Its cute.
so yall going 6' and 100Lbs

are yall planing on having a arm??

[DanDon]

Are you going to add some filler weight to bring it up somewhere near the limit for whatever class you're in? (What class is that, by the way?)

[NOV8R]

Yes, we're going to be in the 6 ft 100LB category. We'll make sure it weighs very close to the max weight. With bumpers and the battery our weight will be 128 LB. We're going to play defense during the first part of the match. Can you imagine trying to see around a 72 inch by 38 inch piece of diamond plate between you and the rack? If we don't move at all from our starting position in the home zone and just deploy our ramps at the start of the match we've blocked the other alliance from getting to a lot of their tubes. With about 20 square feet of 12 inch high parking space we have plenty of easily accessible space for two robots.

[Ryan Dognaux]

What kind of hinges are you guys using to attach the diamond plate ramp? I see two there, they seem rather small too.

[NOV8R]

Hi Ryan, Both ramps are attached with two commercial grade 1 1/2 x 3 inch steel hinges ( about the only steel on the whole bot). The heaviest ramp is only 20 LB. To test the hinges and ramps we've had 200 plus pound boys stand on them with no problems.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Originally Posted by NOV8R

Can you imagine trying to see around a 72 inch by 38 inch piece of diamond plate between you and the rack? If we don't move at all from our starting position in the home zone and just deploy our ramps at the start of the match we've blocked the other alliance from getting to a lot of their tubes.

OMG!

You've prompted me to envision a terrifying new breed of robots

Blockers

What if a team decides not to bother with ramps or rings? But decides just to create a massive wall that prevents the other alliance from scoring?
It sounds silly, but this could work, it would change the entire way the game is played...

[NOV8R]

With the advent of a 6 ft high robot new strategies and tactics are possible. We are a blocker and we don't have to make contact to do it. If we simply drive into the other alliances home zone and park in front of their drivers we've obstructed their view of the field. They have to be over 6 1/2 ft tall to see over our bot. It will also be almost impossible for any team's arm to reach over us if we are between them and the rack. If we deploy our ramps in our home zone at the begining of the match without even moving we'll deny the other alliance from getting to most of their tubes leaning against the wall in our home zone. There is a lot of diiferent kinds of defense we can play with this robot.