Here is a small part of our robot 
very niceā¦
i take it those are brecoflex belts?
where did you get the white āsprocketsā? (not sure what theyāre called)
*jeremy
Would anyone like to guess at what the metal spiral is n the tip of the shaft?
Probably to provide a VERY small amount of traction on the ramp.
Are those white gears Delrin?
If they are, thats a whole lotta Delrin.
Wow. It looks like they plan on getting on top of the ramp and *staying * there.
-Andy A.
Would anyone like to guess at what the metal spiral is n the tip of the shaft?
Iāll answer this one (but not many others). That spiral thing is there to act as a mini cam thingy that moves the largest pulley and tightens the track. When you turn it, it presses against the bolt, and slides the axle of the pulley down a slot in the frame. Works pretty well.
Another killer drive train from the Kats, Iāll go out on a limb and guess theres 6 motors behind it as well.
*Originally posted by sevisehda *
**Another killer drive train from the Kats, Iāll go out on a limb and guess theres 6 motors behind it as well. **
Clark has already told tigerbolters that there will be six motors. Iād expect that there may be an interesting twist on what they do with them though:D
Cory
*Originally posted by Clark Gilbert *
**Would anyone like to guess at what the metal spiral is n the tip of the shaft?Iāll answer this one (but not many others). That spiral thing is there to act as a mini cam thingy that moves the largest pulley and tightens the track. When you turn it, it presses against the bolt, and slides the axle of the pulley down a slot in the frame. Works pretty well. **
Darn! I was going to answer! 
It took me a few seconds, but I figured out it was for tensioning the tracks.
oh wow thatās a good idea for track tensionā¦
too bad weāre not doing tank drive haha
*jeremy
Not that it matters a whole lotā¦ but that space in between the two tread systems looks like a nice box stacking areaā¦
*Originally posted by Cory *
**Clark has already told tigerbolters that there will be six motors. Iād expect that there may be an interesting twist on what they do with them though:DCory **
Sure there are 6 motors on the robot.
I just noticed that the internal frame looks likes steel. Is that just a temporary structure or are you building a real tank?
Itās aluminum and your the second person to think itās steel.
our team decided not to use tracks this year for one overriding reason. with tracks, you canāt really straddle anything. When you reach the top of the ramp, the front half will stick out a couple inches in the air. If another robot is coming from the other side of the ramp and slams into you when your nose is in the air, youāre gonna get tipped. hasnāt this bothered anybody else?
no offense meant to team 45, those tracks look awesome - this is just an observation on tracks in general
*Originally posted by Solace *
**our team decided not to use tracks this year for one overriding reason. with tracks, you canāt really straddle anything. When you reach the top of the ramp, the front half will stick out a couple inches in the air. If another robot is coming from the other side of the ramp and slams into you when your nose is in the air, youāre gonna get tipped. hasnāt this bothered anybody else?no offense meant to team 45, those tracks look awesome - this is just an observation on tracks in general **
this is the TechnoKats 4th season using treads. i remember them using treads in the 2001 competition where we had to balance on the bridge. they never got tipped. and im sure they know to put their CG down low so that they dont even risk tipping. andā¦ intentional tipping is illegal. wedge robots designed to do that specific thing are also not legal.
Hey What about lateral forces. Like the side of the robot? How is a track going to help you there?
I my like tires thank you.
*Originally posted by T967 *
**Hey What about lateral forces. Like the side of the robot? How is a track going to help you there?
I my like tires thank you. **
As David kindly said, we have been working with treads and track drives for 4 years (out of our 12 years of existance). This has been taken into account.
*Originally posted by David Kelly *
**this is the TechnoKats 4th season using treads. i remember them using treads in the 2001 competition where we had to balance on the bridge. they never got tipped. and im sure they know to put their CG down low so that they dont even risk tipping. andā¦ intentional tipping is illegal. wedge robots designed to do that specific thing are also not legal. **
Heās referring to when they approach the top of the HDPE platform. The first 1/3 of their robot will be up in the air since the last 2/3 will be weighted down toward the meshingā¦ If a robot came and pushed against the part sticking out hard enough (pushed against them: defended the ramp), the TKats could essentially be tipped using this as leverage.
And no, this wouldnāt/shouldnāt be intentional tipping. Itās a design flaw. The other team would be merely defending their position as King of The Hill. I can see this definately happening if the TechnoKats try to go forward as a team pushes against them. I donāt mean anything harsh to the TechnoKats, but they shouldnāt be able to hide behind this to gain advantage. If they get tipped by a team that has enough power/torque to do this, then so be it.
On a positive note, looks like this will be another wonderful TechoKats robot. Every year they make it harder to be better than the last. Must be tough. At this rate, next year theyāre going to have to have a 6 motor CVT powering their robot.
Keep up the good work. You never fail to impress us.
Weāve thought about itā¦looked at itā¦and tried to work around it. I know exactly what your talking about, and thing it could very easily happen, but i seriously doubt it will.
Actually, my design team came up w/ this āmilitary 1/2 track designā that tilted to conform to the ramp when you are going up it and when you reach the top, but after thinking about it and working around with our other designs we didnt really find it necessary.