The 2016 boulders have very similar feel to the 2019 power cells. 2016 shooters were mostly either shooting from the batter (almost straight up) or from the outworks (from 15-20 feet), both of which are relevant to the 2019 game. I’m wondering if people could share info about their 2016 shooters. What were the characteristics of some successful shooters (esp single-wheel / hooded shooters):
Wheel type + ball compression
Wheel size / surface speed
Motors used
IIRC 0.5" to 1" of compression with relatively stiff wheels was common?
Dual-motor (with or without a flywheel) seems like it’d make sense for shooting 5 balls.
What about wheel surface speeds to hit the goal from different distances? 30 ft/s? 60?
In 2016, we had a dual wheel shooter that used 1 775pro per wheel on a 4:1 reduction, with 2 stacked AndyMark blue 4" stealth wheels per side. We were able to consistently hit the goal from the outer works (but not from anywhere else due to the shooter design). We had 3" of compression on the ball.
We had a very accurate long distance shot. Single wheel style as opposed to two horizontal wheels. Gravity feed. 180 degrees of wrap to eliminate skidding. Single cim. Two position pneumaticcally actuated hood.
But by far the most important factor, other than the amount of wrap, was the compression. We beat up one ball all through testing, then spent a day shooting that old ball and new balls and adding curved shims (lexan steps) until a new and a very old ball shot identically.
Since we shot from here on the field and hit the top of the goal, we could probably go a little bit further back on this year’s field with the exact same design. The launcher angle and height would definitely need to be changed for full court shots, though.
