26-05-2009 09:47

Brandon Holley

Re: pic: Offseason Robot Pre-assembly 2

wow akash...i SWEAR i've seen sideplates JUST LIKE that somewhere before....if only I could put my finger on it..

OHHH there they are: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/18570


looks good dude...keep progressing

26-05-2009 13:17

Michael Corsetto

Re: pic: Offseason Robot Pre-assembly 2

This is a solid start, I can't wait to see this design progress and come to fruition.

For a poofball shooter, those "barrels" look awfully wide. How wide are they exactly? Why are you using barrels as opposed to a single wide belt system?

Also, your cross-bracing between drivetrain modules definitely need to get beefed up, you probably already know that though.

Last thing (sorry!), if this is an off-season project, why are you cheese holing the heck out of your uprights? If weight isn't an issue, I see no reason to risk structural stability, lose the ability for future modification, and increase manufacturing time just to save a pound or so.

Just my two cents, its great you have these off-season projects going on, its definitely a good way to prepare for next season. The students on my team just finished a prototype 6 wheel drive train as well, and we plan on passing it around to interested team members over the summer so they can practice driving. You can never be too prepared, am I right?

Mike C.

26-05-2009 13:56

Andrew Schreiber

Re: pic: Offseason Robot Pre-assembly 2

Mike,

As a demonstration robot weight is indeed an issue, not in the sense that there is a weight limit more in the sense that no student wants to have to lift a 200lb robot in and out of a vehicle over and over again.

One benefit of the intricate lightening pattern is that it may be aesthetically pleasing. Yes this should be the last concern for a functional machine but as a demonstration visual appeal is important as well.

An additional reason for having holes might be to allow the internal workings to be showcased, say you have a gearbox encased in opaque material (say yellow plastic) When you are explaining it to a person they have no idea what you are talking about. If you cut off non critical portions of that casing in a visually appealing manner you now have a great show piece. One note on this, seeing is great, touching is NOT. Trust me, you do not want to have to explain to a parent that their precious baby stuck their finger in a gearbox and had it forcibly removed. If you decide to show portions that could be dangerous cover them with something clear. Actually make sure you have plenty of safeguards on the machine in general.


Akash,

Looks very good, I too am curious why you went with a double column pickup. My tip, whatever shooter you make it should be able to fire a few sizes of balls, RUSH launches (or used to I can't recall if they still do) light plastic balls (like beach balls only smaller) kids love it because they get to keep the balls.

26-05-2009 17:55

Akash Rastogi

Re: pic: Offseason Robot Pre-assembly 2

Brandon- Yup, I love the old 04 and even the 2000 and 2001 frames so I wanted to emulate those. High ground clearance is what I want so I may just use some old Skyway wheels that are laying around. I want this base to be able to be used for various purposes as the years progress; so for the most part, all the end effector's components will be modular.

Michael- Well this demo bot isn't going to be just for showing off and shooting balls at kids. We use all of our robots for the sole purpose of teaching and one thing we'll be doing over the summer is hopefully showing students how to run CNC mills that are at our disposal. The base frame is not going to be CNC'd, the lightening pattern for that is simple so that we can teach some simple manual milling. Yup center braces are no where near complete yet. Just wanted to post this to get into that whole offseason spirit

Andrew- Yes the barrels are wide so that we can shoot various types of balls. I have a little plan for allowing a wide range of diameters to be shot from this bot. Its something like switch controlled setting to run the actual shooting module on a lead screw so it can move up and down to the preset limits. The same preset limits would correspond to the shooter speed desired or that may just be run by the trigger. It may work, it may not, but heck, this robot is going to be designed for us to learn so why not play around with it a bit?

Hope you guys like the CAD so far. I've been getting a lot of help from some great friends.

P.S.- Oh and did I mention a little bit of sheet metal work? Hi 1771.

26-05-2009 18:43

Akash Rastogi

Re: pic: Offseason Robot Pre-assembly 2

Sorry for the double post, but Brandon, what were your opinions on the 2001 frame since I think you were there for that year...correct? Thanks.