One of our mentors and just picked up a set of the Andymark 6" HD Mecanum wheels. The cost of the wheels is $104 each. We just re-read the rules on cost (R11 specifically) and we weren’t sure if they are legal since they have to be used together as a set. that means their total cost is $416; which is over the $400 max. Please let us know if we can build our bot around these wheels.
Thanks!
Here are the wheels in question:
http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0677.htmhttp://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0685.htm
Just list their individual costs in your CAW. Each one is a COTS component.
They are individual parts. So they can be used together. I would also consider the Vex wheels, as they’re significantly cheaper and hold up well. We used them last year, and they worked pretty well (for mecanum wheels in a game that was not designed for them at all).
Thanks for the info; and the suggestion on using vex in the future. In this case the mentor already purchased them.
The cost can be high - you’ll be dropped from some team’s pick lists…
I assume you mean because of the mecanum and not because of high-cost items on a robot. :rolleyes:
Exactly. If your team uses mecanum and cannot perform near a 2052 level of driver performance, then you will suffer the consequences. However, if your driver can perform well with mecanum, it can be a great advantage.
What year are you referring to?
Ahh, let the Mecanum hate flow.
2013 and 2014 were the ones I have in mind. I don’t remember 2015 - I have blocked that season from memory.
525 and 2052 are in this video here - zippy little buggers
Doesn’t look like they do a ton of strafing in those videos. I think they would’ve been equally or better served by running a tank drive. They are the best mecanum team in the world in my opinion, and the first year they don’t use mecanum (2016) they make their first apprlearence to Einstein… coincidence? Possibly, but I think not.
check when they are near the feeder station.
In the 2013 videos I saw, they saved maybe a second per cycle lining up to the HP feeder when compared to teams who had enough practice to realize they were misaligned and readjusted with tank.
I watched their 2014 videos over lunch today. It seems the biggest increase in agility they used to their advantage was to whip the robot around - going full reverse in a direction, doing a 180, and then continuing forwards in the original direction via a single, smooth maneuver. There were a few times they were pushed around the field, but at least at the Regional level it didn’t hurt the overall match. They didn’t directly strafe very much, but the increase in agility combined with smart driving and good strategy decisions seemed to help them win their Regionals.
At Worlds, however, particularly in the QF matches, they were definitely pushed around without question. The worst situations, due to the passing nature of that game, were when they went to pass to a partner and defense pushed them INTO that partner. In one case during QF’s it was an effective open-field pin against 2 robots. Again, there was little strafing, but the increase in agility helped them bob-and weave in some cases. In the other cases, the defense that was played against them did the bobbing and weaving for them.
I don’t mean this isn’t an opportunity cost analysis, or what went wrong with 2052’s 2014 season. There are obvious reasons to want Mecanum and to not want Mecanum drive, and 2052 seemed to use it pretty well. Versus non-aggressive defense, I think Mecanum will handle fine and can give the teams who have practice with it an edge. Yet on the World stage (which are what the high-profile guys above are alluding to), it will wind up being an exploitable weakness of an alliance.
Here is a short compilation of our mecanum from 2013. I think this was probably one of our most effective mecanum robots.
You should post this in the Mechanum vs Tank Drive thread if you haven’t already. Those spin moves your driver did were disgustingly good…and not possible with tank drive either…I think.
Thanks for that video - it helps show off the best of what Mecanum can offer. I see a lot more strafing and even more ‘whip arounds’ that proved beneficial.
It seems like there were as many great uses of field elements to dodge defense in addition to the agility. If the pyramids were solid, do you expect you’d have similar results? There are very similar pinch points this year.
But why are you using giant vectored intake wheels on the drivetrain?
I’ve said for a while that 2052 is the only team I’ve ever seen do mecanum well, and Silverfish (if I remember the name correctly) is certainly case in point. I’ve never seen another team approach what they were able to do with mecanum, especially 2012-14.