23-02-2011 12:56

jwfoss

Re: pic: Team Titanium (1986) with Robot

I am impressed with your gripper design, would you mind sharing some details?

What material are the "gripping plates" made out of and how is the actual grip motion activiated?

Looks like you guys have built a very competitive bot, best of luck at your regionals.

23-02-2011 16:04

Alpha Beta

Re: pic: Team Titanium (1986) with Robot

Thank you for the kind words.

Gripping plates are plywood with stair tread material added for traction. They are very strong and flexible, but in a serious collision we wanted them to break before the more complicated parts of the robot saw damage. We never expect to be in a collision with our arm down, but...

A pneumatic actuator moves a glide that intersects the slots on the top and bottom arms of the gripper. This allows the gripping plates to approach each other at near parallel angles. It was important to us that the up/down motion of the elevator work well with the grip and release mechanism. We are very pleased with how they work together.

When we have a game piece the pneumatics push with a set force until they reach the end of their travel, or until the game piece pushes back with an equal force. This allows us to have the same grip even though inflation pressure may vary between game pieces.

24-02-2011 20:44

DonRotolo

Re: pic: Team Titanium (1986) with Robot

Looks awesome! Wish I could see it in person...

01-04-2011 22:26

jspatz1

Re: pic: Team Titanium (1986) with Robot

"...Meet me in St. Louis."