So I have been working on a robot design just as a challenge to myself, but I figured I would share it and some of the design constraints and stuff day to day. So without further ado, my unofficial 3414 CAD in 3 Days!
Day 1
The main consideration for day 1 was just getting the basic superstructure created, as well as a design goal. The basic constraints of the design were:
- Fit under a shallow cage
- At least L3, L4 if it is possible given the design
- Algae manipulation
- Source pickup/dropin
- 26"x26" Thrifty Swerve v2
- Shallow Cage with Buddy climb if time allows
Other design considerations for time were:
- Rivet holes in plates availible
- As few parts as possible
- Minimize parts which look the same, but with a few differences
- Not all electronics placed in (sensors, cameras, etc)
- Hardware largely not included
- Copy as much stuff from other robots as possible
- Little actual sizing/ratio considerations, just what “feels right”
- All Kraken x60 for major mechanisms
- An exception was made for the Coral manipulator, which uses Flex wheels over Neo 550s.
I came up with two main designs to pursue within my CAD ability. The first was essentially just 2910 2023 with a 4 stage telescoping arm. I mostly just abandoned this one due to the complexity and realization i couldn’t just straight copy the CAD for the arm. Also, I couldn’t figure out how to package a basic intake idea into the design.
2910 Telescoping Arm?
Oh yeah, this was the basic idea for the 2910 arm and stuff. It may not be entirely realistic as well, but is interesting.
The second design was the one I pursued. This design utlized an arm with a manipulator at the end, much like our 2023 robot, just slightly modified for the game. I also wanted to add in a seperate Algae Processor intake that I was sure would be able to do the Processor.
The manipulator at the end of the arm I specced for 1/8" bent polycarb. This is in the hope that the polycarb is able to flex enough that the Algae is able to be somewhat manipulated, hopefully enough to remove it from the Reef, if not Processor score.
This day ended with the basic superstructure and intake settled in. Many of the finer details were not set in stone beyond that.
Day 2
Day 2 was mostly dedicated to finishing up the details of packaging the arm, with all the chain mechanisms sorted out. There are some basic crush blocks in some of the tubing, but for the most part they can be ignored.
Work began on the seperate Algae intake. It was very clear that there would be little space to put a manipulator anywhere on the robot, especially because the main arm needed so much clearance space to move around. This forced the Algae manipulator to the back of the robot, using similar intake gearbox methods as used in 2024. The gearbox was figured out, however actually driving the wheels wasn’t quite figured out by the time I ended the day. Currently, a Kraken drives the same gearbox as the arm itself, however the arm on the driving side has a plain bearing that the hex shaft slips in, meaning that the final gear can now drive a separate gear with a pulley for the wheels to run attached. Its a bit convoluted, but it should work well enough.
This leaves the rest of the electronics, finishing the intakes, and a basic bumper to be completed with the remaining (little) time I have between a meeting tomorrow and school. Which also might mean this is where the robot is left off, I hope not though.
Also, planning for the 2025 minibot has begun as well, which might just be Algae processor and maybe a deep climb. All based on my 2024 minibot, which is the biggest constraint.
Day 3
Day 3 I made this writeup and tried as much as possible to finish the CAD to a “suitable” degree. It is at the very least not a KrayonCAD mockup, or just a mechanism without a chassis. There is a few points of interference remaining that I didn’t have time to diagnose, and a few points of overextension that need hardstops to fix.
I was unable to implement the climbing system I was working with, but given it was a 2010 pole climber, you can probably guess as to how it would work. I’m not sure it would have actually worked well with this design given the arms flexibility, and lack of an angle anywhere else.
I also wanted to add a second steel plate to the side opposite the Algae intake just for frame perimeter backing, but also lost time. I did get the bumpers basically fully detailed.
And finally, the picture dump!
Extended
Electronics
Coral Getting
I would highly encourage people to experiment with a different manipulator on the end of the arm, as the Back L4 showed, it has the potential height if a few tradeoffs were made. For instance, I wante to be able to just go under the Shallow Cage, so getting rid of that requirement might get the extra height needed. Additionally, something like an elevator arm would also fix it.
I will get a weight later, last weigh (End of Day 2 picture) in came to around 91lbs with battery and gamepieces and no bumpers, but not all the electronics.
Also, this robot in no way represents the robot direction that 3414 is going towards, this was purely my own challenge I took on. I did mostly copy the bumpers from our 2024 robot, and much of the arm mechanism.
Please be nice to my CAD and methods, but also feel free to ask questions about the design and reasoning behind design choices!