Ok so our team has been prototyping for the entire two weeks that have gone by, and certain components of the robot are coming along, while one has not. Our design is that we’re taking the totes into the robot, stacking inside the robot, and spitting them out the back (and no, we’re not changing the design to stack outside the robot - it’s already been decided 
). So the component that we’re struggling with is the one that brings the totes into the robot. We’d like not to have it on an elevator (just throwing that out there)— we tried a pneumatic gripper but came to the conclusion that we’d need an elevator. Other than that, we’ve tried something that gets the tote and pivots to an angle to let the tote slide into the robot (which we pretty much ruled out because it didn’t work), we’re working on a design that uses wheels, and we’re leaning towards that – they’d be perpendicular to the totes as to grip them on the sides. Other than that, however, in the words of one of our mentors, we’re kinda stumped. Any advice or other ideas we could try? We’re really focusing on speed and the ability to do it right every time, time after time. Thanks.
“Steal from the best, invent the rest.”
I believe you might want to look and see how the RID3 group implemented the auto aligner with their pick up system. It may give you an idea on how to make this pick up system.
Yeah i mentioned that at our meeting today - I’ll make it more of a point next time. Thanks!
I’d suggest playing around with ways to utilize the tote chute for stacking, whether onto the robot, or other ideas. There is a lot you could do with it. For instance, if you had a conveyor on the robot that went upwards in relation to the chute, and a tote is put through, goes up the conveyor, and goes into a cage essentially, but this cage doesnt have a bottom. So they fall and you angle the sides inwards, and the bottom of the totes are on the ground. You drive this stack onto the ramp, and open up one end of the cage, and just back out. Just a thought:)
This phrase sounds familiar…
Could you upload a drawing/diagram of what you’re trying to accomplish?
The great Banksy quote?
When I tell you stacking from the outside is harder than it looks, trust me. Weight issues get everywhere for tall stacks unless you stick a lot of stuff in the back. Internal seems like a much better option for us in hindsight.
Take a look at Ri3D 1.0’s robot for their wheel alignment system. Roll the totes in. Then jack the tote up using a couple pneumatic cylinders or an elevator and have the bottom tote stay on a catch (made of a pneumatic cylinder and a few pieces of aluminum, like a one-way latch). Finally, support the upper part of the stack with a frame of sorts.
Roll the totes out when the stack is done. Or, drive onto the scoring platform. To get your totes down:
- raise the tote stack above the latch.
- actuate the latch out so the totes can come down.
- Lower your elevator pistons and set the tote stack down.
This was our original strategy, but some people voiced concerns over the rigidity of a C-shaped chassis (such that we could stack from the ground up in height) so we now have an external design. Which has far more problems than rigidity.
Wow some great ideas shot out here… I’ll work on trying to upload a drawing- I have to wait until Monday though to get in the shop to grab one (I’m not the best artist!)