Linear Shooters - How did you do it?

[Dan Petrovic]

95 has a rigging of several pneumatic pistons. I believe there are 7. I took a closer look at their machine at GSR but I can't remember how many pistons they used.

That robot could launch the ball a good 8 feet into the air.

thebluealliance.net has some good videos of their launches.

[jskene]

We use a direct thrust linear shooter, with 2 24" x 2" pistons. We directly connect two Clippard storage tanks to each cylinder through 1/4" SMC solenoid valves. By storing the air downstream of the pressure regulator and using short, direct connection with 1/4" fittings, as opposed to the more common 1/8" fittings, we get much higher air flow.

The arms in the photo on the left below are shown in their stowed position, at the start of the game. When the elevator rises up, they swing out to the front of the robot. The 4 gray wheels then pull the ball in, the elevator raises the ball to the desired height, the pistons rotate out under the ball, and we shoot, below right. This design allows us to shoot on the fly.

[dpc131]

Originally Posted by DrewB

Our shooter is pneumatic, we use a two cylinders to retract the mechanism building force upon two large springs. When the mechanism reaches a certain point a latch holds the force as we release the pressure that was stored in the cylinders. Then using a pneumatic latch release we can release the force and propel the ball through the air.

Sounds like we have a very similiar design. We are using 4 springs instead of 2, but other than that it sounds identical. Any pics?