pic: 2791 Starting Configuration

[Chris is me]

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[MrForbes]

That's a really neat idea!

[Chris is me]

No idea where that came from, nope...

We stepped up the PVC tube diameter for a bit more rigidity than your system. It's paid off pretty well! Now that I think about it, our robots are dramatically similar this year...

[Andrew Schreiber]

How do you hold an ubertube for auton?

[MrForbes]

I expect they'll have to pick it up off the floor. Probably requires a bit of forward/backward driving to get it.

[thefro526]

Did you guys have something really cool in your base or was that guy just admiring your work?

Anyway, the bot looks awesome - get those guys some practice and it'll do great.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

How do you hold an ubertube for auton?

Unfortunately, the gripper open breaks starting configuration, so our plan is to floor load. It probably will take more time to tune than we have to make it work (we have a Thursday) but oh well.

Originally Posted by thefro526

Did you guys have something really cool in your base or was that guy just admiring your work?

Anyway, the bot looks awesome - get those guys some practice and it'll do great.

We've got a removable electronics board and cantilevered drive. They look cool!

We don't have much time for practice, but luckily we have a veteran driver waiting to get his hands on the bot.

[R.C.]

Chris,

Great robot, did you guys not have weight for an aluminum arm?

-RC

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by R.C.

Chris,

Great robot, did you guys not have weight for an aluminum arm?

-RC

We're well under. PVC was cheaper, more available, and could more easily slide within each other without the need for any actuation. It's also easier to work with.

We bought very large (2.5" outer stage) PVC to ensure there'd be some rigidity in the arm.

[MrForbes]

We have enough rigidity with a 2" outer arm and 1.5" inner. It wiggles, but that's not a problem. Using ABS lets us have less weight and a more robust arm, but as you noticed the only 2.5" you can find easily is gray electrical conduit.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Unfortunately, the gripper open breaks starting configuration, so our plan is to floor load. It probably will take more time to tune than we have to make it work (we have a Thursday) but oh well.

Perhaps look into a single shot piece that holds the tube to you and your arm grabs from at the start of match. 27 did something like that in 2005 and it worked pretty well. The last thing you want is to introduce MORE human error into your auton.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Perhaps look into a single shot piece that holds the tube to you and your arm grabs from at the start of match. 27 did something like that in 2005 and it worked pretty well. The last thing you want is to introduce MORE human error into your auton.

There really isn't a good place to put something like that. The arm has a very limited range of travel so it can't bend around a corner to grab something weirdly placed.

Current plan is to put tube on ground touching bumper. Back up, extend arm, open gripper, drive into tube, close gripper, proceed with auton.

[MrForbes]

might want to add "push tube forward" in there somewhere

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Current plan is to put tube on ground touching bumper. Back up, extend arm, open gripper, drive into tube, close gripper, proceed with auton.

That's what we did in 2007. I think we missed only once in about 50 matches.

[KleinKid]

Team 3735 is earliy similar to this but our system is a little more sturdy i think. We used 1" aluminum inside of 1.5" aluminum and instead of gravity for extension we rigged up a 1.5" bore pneumatic piston. Being able to retract the arm during the game makes driving around and placing tubes on the rack much easier.

I'm very jealous and curious of your 7 victor controlers on your electronics board. 4 are probably for the CIM motors on your drivetrain but what are the other three used for other than controling the arm?