19-01-2011 18:00

MattC9

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

Nice!!! but the real question did it work well? Because We had a similar idea to it.

19-01-2011 20:15

gvarndell

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

For concrete jersey barriers?

19-01-2011 21:41

BJC

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

I would be carful with that getting ripped off your robot during collection.
When building a ground-picker-upper ask yourself would this break if a robot hit it square on going 10fps?

19-01-2011 23:24

bobosalad

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

at this point the grabber is not completed. it needs more bands and they will be tighter. nevertheless, it grabs, and almost turns the tubes. fine tuning will be done. Effective? Yes i think so.

20-01-2011 01:00

114Klaatu0x72

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

Is that some type of urethane tubing you are using? If so, how did you weld/join yours together, they look nice and neat.

20-01-2011 13:53

techtiger1

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

The orange cord is called polycord you can order it from Mcmaster-carr, it is joined by heating the material up, joining it, then letting it mold together and cool. Works really good for a variety of FRC and other applications.

20-01-2011 14:00

Sean Raia

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

This looks really HEAVY. Whats it weigh in at?

20-01-2011 14:06

Gabe Guidarelli

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

I agree with sean it looks really heavy ,but if you are able to lighten it i think it will be very useful for manipulating the tube.

20-01-2011 14:18

PAR_WIG1350

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

I agree also, It seems that straight roller supports mounted nearer to the axles of the inboard pulleys would make it much lighter.

20-01-2011 14:43

JamesCH95

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

If you mounted the larger pulleys concentrically with the pivot for the corresponding 'finger' the belts would maintain tension as the grabber opens and closes.

20-01-2011 19:57

bobosalad

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

It weighs in less than 5 lbs and the reason for the offset of the drive pulleys is so we can tension it. The arms wont move during the game.

21-01-2011 13:59

jblay

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

You'll find it on mcmaster-carr under urethane belting. Its very useful for not only conveyors but also it is a lightweight way to power something. I have seen teams use it for their drivetrain. I wouldnt recommend that though because a lot of issues can prop up with that.

The way we mold it, not the team whose photo this is, together is we took a piece of aluminum block. drilled through the center of it with a bit as big as the diameter of the polycord. then we sliced the block in half at the point where it was drilled through. then we melt the polycord and put it in between the 2 pieces you have left and you get a nice and strong connection.

21-01-2011 14:28

Ian Curtis

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

Do you have a picture of this? I would love to see it!

We had great success with the Art Dutra Method.

We didn't wait half an hour (maybe 5 minutes) and never had one break. Also 10% shorter than the run is too short, they run just fine (and it doesn't require super human strength to get them on) at 3-5% shorter than the run.

This entire thread is very helpful when it comes to polycord.

21-01-2011 14:32

pandamonium

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

I think the concept is good but it could be cleaned up a bit...
is this just a prototype?

HINT: the tube surface is very different than in 07 and I believe that wheels work better than belts. Also in a collision belts may come loose easier than wheels...

21-01-2011 14:34

pandamonium

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

wait the gripper opens and closes? or is stationary??

22-01-2011 00:52

jblay

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58621049@N04/5376721513/

24-01-2011 00:14

114Klaatu0x72

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

@jblay

I'll have to give your method a try. Trying to force to ends together by hand with a heat gun or soldering iron is a pretty poor way to join polycord, as it is apparently called.

24-01-2011 00:29

jblay

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

We set both ends on fire and then put it in the assembly. We did it this way in 2009 and had like 20 long strands of polycord and not one has broken yet but they are starting to stretch a bit. We also threw some extra strands on there in case one broke we could replace it without having to take the whole conveyor system apart.

24-01-2011 15:33

Boraas2535

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

Looks great Guys! who did your welding?

27-01-2011 22:17

bobosalad

Re: pic: Teaser manipulator

Students actually weld everything on the robot; some welds look great, and others, well its 18 year olds welding... We are proud of what comes out of our shop purely because it was all made by the hands of teenagers. We have nothing machined.