pic: we decided to leave our electronics box as the cardboard box FIRST gave us, it was prelabeled.

[bubbablahmon]

loading photo ...

[vivek16]

you know, I think most teams don't even consider the possiblity of using cardboard as an electronics mounting board. It's extremely lightweight and fairly rigid (well rigid enough if you arent using it for bracing and such). You can even use multiple sheets to make it more rigid. also, it is really easy to cut and all you need is an xacto knive. Thoughts?

thanks, Vivek

EDIT: good job on wearing safety glasses.

[lukevanoort]

I've thought about using cardboard, but I have never actually tried. The stuff can be pretty strong, but once it gets damaged it weakens significantly and fails more... I guess I'm just not brave enough to try it. I wish you luck with it! BTW, those are some sexy treads!

[Pavan Dave]

I hope something goes over it or you put standoffs inside the box so your electronics don't get crushed when a 40" ball falls on it. I think once you get past that you'll have a great, light weight, and semi-robust controls system. Good luck!

[roboticWanderor]

that is some beautiful Tank drive there guys. nice idea using he cardboard box, makes it all very lightweight and organized (or at least contained ). make sure to put the box somewhere where it wont get damaged or else!

[DarkFlame145]

lol nice, we normally use lexan.

[EricH]

Make sure you can see the lights when the box is closed. That is an inspection issue, and is so that the IFI reps can see what is going wrong if your robot dies.

<R72> The Robot Controller must be positioned within the ROBOT so that its indicator lights can be seen during inspection and when standing three feet in front of the ROBOT while the ROBOT is in the STARTING CONFIGURATION at the beginning of a MATCH. This will greatly facilitate analysis in case of problems.

[Fab.Master]

we're gonna cut the top off and put saran wrap on top. thanks for the compliments on the tracks. I designed them in AutoCad and we sent the file to a company called Old Dominion Brush who has CNC waterjet and they cut them out for $65 a piece (4 pieces total). We then used 1"x1" 8020 through the inside rails at the back, tapped the end 1/4-20 and use flat head bolts to pull the sides tight. the middle is the same thing except with a 1"x2" piece. our floor pan is alumalite panel from 8020 and is bolted to the 8020 cross members. But the best part is that with electronics we this whole assembly weighs roughly 35lbs. I'll try to get more pics on monday or tuesday with closeups.

[Cory]

Out of curiosity, why did you decide to use treads this year? This seems to be about the worst year ever, with the exception of 05, maybe, to use treads.

[DarkFlame145]

Originally Posted by Cory

Out of curiosity, why did you decide to use treads this year? This seems to be about the worst year ever, with the exception of 05, maybe, to use treads.

imo tracks was a bad way to go in 05, it was very compact and you needed to be able to turn well. But i was wondering also, it's going to make turning hard.

[vhcook]

we're gonna cut the top off and put saran wrap on top

I'd recommend against that, as it's likely to either keep the victors from breathing or get caught in a fan (which could provoke a release of magic smoke). Ventilation is a good thing, as are rigidity and cable management.

Make sure the button on the master breaker is easily accessible from outside the robot. This is also an inspection and safety issue.

You're making some interesting design choices. I hope they work out well for you.

[Fab.Master]

we decided to keep the tracks since this was our first drive system that worked consistently all of the time. We also like the compactness of this design with the motors parallel to the tracks as this opens up more space than conventional designs. we know its not the ideal thing but that's why we have programmers (to make it all work like we want it). I just build and drive

[sethw]

Originally Posted by DarkFlame145

imo tracks was a bad way to go in 05, it was very compact and you needed to be able to turn well. But i was wondering also, it's going to make turning hard.

Tracks really work rather well - our team has used them several years and never had a problem with them. Turning with them is easy enough. We even won regionals with track-driven robots in both 2004 and 2005. They're a very viable option.

[DarkFlame145]

Originally Posted by sethw

Tracks really work rather well - our team has used them several years and never had a problem with them. Turning with them is easy enough. We even won regionals with track-driven robots in both 2004 and 2005. They're a very viable option.

Really? we never have had a lot of luck with them, from what i hear from old members.

[lukevanoort]

Originally Posted by DarkFlame145

Really? we never have had a lot of luck with them, from what i hear from old members.

From what I understand, a good track system needs a lot of thought and planning (especially in the tensioning system). With careful planning they can be equally maneuverable, be better at handling obstacles, and possess a lower CoG than wheels; with bad or sloppy design they can be quite expensive (belt replacements), unreliable, have difficulty turning, and be very heavy. Most of the good track designs, like 180's and 48's, have gone through many, many iterations to reach their current level of effectiveness.