17-10-2016 10:32

bcampbell

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

How did you manufacture the gear teeth on the turret and the variable angle ball holder? What kind of tolerances were you able to hold?

17-10-2016 10:55

jlbimson

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

One of our sponsors does laser/water jet cutting for us. The tolerances are pretty tight, but the teeth mesh very nicely with the other gears. The turret did end up having a little bit of slop in the gearbox, but not too bad.

17-10-2016 11:13

AdamHeard

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

We've waterjetted many 20 and 24 dp gears over the years at exact size without issue.

254's turret this year was water cut.

148 does a fair amount on laser.

17-10-2016 11:52

gc_coxen

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Very interested how this turns out. What drove the decision to make a turret catapult?

17-10-2016 11:59

bkahl

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Not only is this catapult on a turret, the ball cradle slides for different shot trajectories...

#TSIMFD

17-10-2016 12:03

frcguy

Few things:

1. You guys aren't using it at CCC? Thought this was going to be one of the 3 you all are playing with.

2. How does it intake?

Anyways, this thing is hands-down awesome. Even if it's not done, you should still bring it to CCC so we all can see it in person!

17-10-2016 12:06

jlbimson

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

We wanted to try some mechanisms that we had never tried before, and the programmers wanted to work more with vision. A lot of the reasoning behind our decisions was "because we can."

17-10-2016 12:31

Knufire

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Could we get another picture of the bearing setup on the turret?

17-10-2016 12:32

AdamHeard

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

It's the same as what 254 did for season, a 1601-washer-r3-washer-1601 stackup on a #10. This rides on a 1/4" plate (or 3/16" if no washer).

Iteration of what 1323 did in 2012 but w/ smaller bearings.

17-10-2016 13:04

jwfoss

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Looks like 1678 caught a little bit of the small robot fever for the offseason. Can't wait to see some pictures of the completed robot.

17-10-2016 13:41

Justin Montois

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Quick glance told me it was a swerve drive

Looks cool. Interested to see how the intake works.

17-10-2016 14:46

Michael Corsetto

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

1. Not at CCC. We will only be competing with one bot at CCC. Our 2016 Adrian practice bot will be driven by team 299. The rest of our students are volunteering.

2. Intake is mostly assembled, not mounted though. There are other mechanisms still missing as well!

Maybe we'll bring it to CCC, but we have a lot of other stuff to do just to make the event happen!

Thanks,

-Mike

17-10-2016 14:58

wajirock

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

That is a very nice looking robot! How is the catapult powered? I don't think I see any pneumatics or elastic tubing. Is it motor driven?

17-10-2016 15:09

Cothron Theiss

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

I'm just curious as to what that thingamabob is in the corner. Were your machinists bored?

17-10-2016 15:10

AdamHeard

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

That's a Turner's Cube.

17-10-2016 15:13

frcguy

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Devin's pride and joy.

17-10-2016 15:38

jlbimson

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

The catapult will be powered by both surgical tubing and pneumatic cylinders. We just haven't mounted them yet.

17-10-2016 15:47

Andrew_L

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Looks gorgeous, hopefully one day I can dive into the CAD of this thing.

Gotta ask though, what's with the giant rivets?

17-10-2016 15:53

Bryce2471

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Awesome looking bot! I can't wait to see the final product.

How will you access the electronics for maintenance or repair?

PS. Love the random things in the rest of this photo

17-10-2016 16:10

ollien

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

*snip*

17-10-2016 16:11

AlexanderLuke

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

That reasoning has led you this far, and it looks stunning. Did any prototyping in the offseason go into this, or did you perhaps test a catapult during the build season?

I would love to see some more pictures from different angles, or maybe even a video once it is operational


+1.

17-10-2016 16:16

niklas674

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

This robot is absolutely beautiful. I hope y'all will show it off at ccc. I'd love to see it.

17-10-2016 16:26

jlbimson

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

We got those by accident during the season, and are just trying to get rid of them.

The entire turret assembly (and everything on it) can be unbolted from the drivetrain, but the electronics are a huge pain to access.

We did a couple of weeks of prototyping in June, but the rest was done in CAD over the summer. I will upload more pictures when we finish it, along with some other specs.

17-10-2016 16:37

wesleyac

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

With great difficulty and possibly tears

The electronics on this bot are pretty crazy, given how small it is. We ended up needing to mount the PCM on the turret, because it won't fit elsewhere.

You're seeing one of the two independent shot adjustment mechanisms

17-10-2016 16:49

RoboChair

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

My boredom and associated hijinks are the stuff of legend.

17-10-2016 16:51

bkahl

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

I assume an adjustable hard stop? I don't think the adjustable cradle is enough with a single throw length to get a fender shot, and considering I see what appears to be a mount for spring assist, you'll need/want some kind of Hardstop. Maybe that's what the empty pocket in the plate the catapult rotates around is for? A VP to adjust the throw?

Everytime I've looked at this picture (a lot of times) I've noticed something cooler. My favorite part may be that the catapult is offset by ~30 degrees on the turret to allow for a longer lever arm.

This robot is all about the little details, pun intended.

17-10-2016 17:08

RoboChair

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Yes, there is an adjustable hard stop that uses a custom tiny disc brake. At least that's how I understand it is going to be.

17-10-2016 18:18

Bluman56

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Has 1678 bought up the world supply of disc brakes? You guys sure do love that stuff

I'd love to see this up close (as I'm sure others would as well) so I'm curious if the team would be able to show some of the details that we might not otherwise catch in photos like these. It would be a fantastic learning experience.

Otherwise, wicked cool stuff! Props to the team for the hard work over the summer.

17-10-2016 19:49

Bryce2471

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Did you build a functional prototype of the catapult with all these articulations?
I get the feeling that building the prototype would be a major challenge in itself, probably worthy of CAD.

17-10-2016 23:48

nuclearnerd

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

I'm guessing one of the missing mechanisms is something to hold the ball in the arm cup when driving? Or does the intake do that as well? Can't wait to see the whole thing - please make a release video!

18-10-2016 01:08

Harrison.Smith

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

A release video would be sweet!

This robot is looking awesome I cannot imagine the headaches y'all had fitting everything in a size similar to Mittens, but without the arm. Looking forward to seeing this at Madtown.

18-10-2016 01:28

DaveL

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

The things that caught my eye are the compact compressor bracket and the wheels.

It looks like you cut openings in the polycarb and then bent it.
How did you bend it? Was it heated in an oven and then put into a form?

On the wheels, they look worn down. Did you sand off tread to make it turn easier?

Dave

18-10-2016 10:23

jlbimson

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

We built a catapult prototype, but not with the adjustable stop, scoop, or turret.
There will be a pair of omni wheels that help to hold the ball in place, and pivot downwards when firing.
We cut the polycarb on our CNC router and made the bends using a heat gun and a press/break. The wheels are just used ones from the season, nothing special.

18-10-2016 10:24

marshall

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Got a part number or link to them? I haven't seen those before but they look intriguing.

18-10-2016 11:55

Knufire

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Blind Rivet Supply sells a wide assortment, they'll be labeled as "large flange" rivets.

18-10-2016 12:20

RoboChair

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Well, we did prototype the adjustable scoop, just as a manual adjustment.


Fastenal is where we got them.

19-10-2016 01:15

araniaraniratul

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Definitely a swing away from the usual simple swiss knife style, but I love it. Wish I could be at Madtown!

19-10-2016 01:19

araniaraniratul

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

You know you've made it big when people assume every imperfection is genius!

12-11-2016 18:11

Bryce2471

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

I intended to watch this robot play at Madtown, but I apparently tuned in too late.
How did it turn out? What were the learning experiences?

12-11-2016 18:24

T^2

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

It was pretty terrible

12-11-2016 19:52

frcguy

That's a little harsh. While it didn't perform fantastically, I still thought it was a phenomenal piece of engineering and thoroughly enjoyed seeing it.

12-11-2016 21:10

jlbimson

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Not harsh at all, as it seriously didn’t work. I’m going to post a render and more details, including lessons learned, sometime next week.

12-11-2016 21:20

ollien

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Would you mind posting a model of that compressor bracket? I'd love to 3d print one of those.

12-11-2016 21:25

Bluman56

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Seems like it was geared really fast. Was this the case or was there just no ramping code?

13-11-2016 11:25

billbo911

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Nick's assessment is right on the money! It is stunning to see what has been built into such a tiny chassis.

Granted, Lemon Drop did not perform up to the level we have come to expect from 1678, it certainly does meet their engineeding capabilities.
I have little doubt that if they continue to refine the drive code, it will be exactly what you would expect from them!

13-11-2016 14:20

asid61

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

After watching it on stream, it looked like it only had a few small errors that knocked it out of the game, rather than a failure of the overall design.

13-11-2016 15:33

AnthonyDV

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

The robot was about 80% done. Building the bot took longer than expected which left the programmers without any time to test their code. The robot's new drive code was not ready so we wrote tank drive code in between matches. Tank drive, a short wheel base, and new drivers who did not have any driver practice contributed to the lack of control. The lack of time to test and find bugs also cause the robot to destroy itself.

13-11-2016 18:35

tickspe15

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

..

13-11-2016 18:56

Basel A

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

So basically, you got a taste of what an average FRC team's season is like?

13-11-2016 19:43

AlexanderLuke

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

While we wait for more updates from the folks on 1678, perhaps someone who went to the Madtown event could share some additional close-up pictures of this robot with the rest of us?

13-11-2016 20:16

frcguy

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Happy to!



Here it is being worked on in their pit.



While this is a photo of when it flipped, that's not why I took it and am sharing it. It shows the packaging on the bottom of the robot really well. Look at the spacing between those MiniCIMs !

13-11-2016 23:41

Lil' Lavery

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Are those Talons/Victors attached to anything, or simply being held in place by wire tension?

14-11-2016 12:10

jlbimson

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

The ones on the bottom are zip-tied to the bellypan. We have a couple more on top of the bellypan that are pretty much just stuffed under the turret.

22-11-2016 10:39

jwfoss

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Inquiring minds would love to see more details on this. Maybe its just me but the complexity of this machine seems like a change from the typical 1678 design mentality. Just pushing the boundaries for the "offseason"?

22-11-2016 10:47

bkahl

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

To be fair, the same argument could be made for their 2016 in-season bot. It was pretty complicated with the rotating, telescoping arm.

I think it's probably a product of lots of experience gained over the past few years and some increased resources that have brought their build techniques to the next level.

Whatever it may be, 1678 never ceases to put out MFD designs, and I love it.

23-11-2016 12:35

Michael Corsetto

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Justin,

I think the kids are working to tidy up the CAD and get it out so people can take a better look at what went into the design.

First, there definitely was a desire to push the boundaries and see what the current group of students was capable of. The packaging was really intense, and took a lot of whiteboard sessions to figure most of it out.

We also got to try out 5-6 different mechanisms the team hasn't designed before, which was valuable experience. This has paid off for us in past years, so we thought we'd continue trying new mechanisms in the offseason, but built in the "1678 style".

Lastly, this process highlighted some of the general areas we can improve on in the next 1.5 months. With new students every year, there will invariably be strengths and weaknesses in their design, assembly, programming and project management skills (to name a few!). Going through something like this allows mentors like me to better focus my energies on growing students in the ways they need to develop, in order to work as a cohesive unit come January.

We'll find out soon enough if the efforts paid off!

-Mike

23-11-2016 13:37

Monochron

Re: pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

Separate from all the cool engineering, I would love to hear more about how you worked on this. How to develop students is something we are always looking to improve on.