just to verify what is this exactly depicting a robot driving over the humps.
Seems like 6" wheels and 2" tube are pretty much gonna handle anything the bump can throw at it, which is nice.
I think the point is to Not drive over the scoring platforms. Thats why maneuverability is key this year.
If I want to go get something from the landfill zone from a feeder station why drive around the scoring platforms in some crazy “S” instead of driving strait over them.
It’s nice to be able to dance around the platforms, sure, but the area in between them is going to get pretty congested with totes and other robots. Being able to drive over the platforms should make things more efficient for you.
Also, they put ramps on them, so they clearly thought that teams would want to drive over them.
Why do you think that?
Apologies, I mis-clicked prior to finishing the description. This is a skid-steer robot represented from the front, as if the robot were driving down the white raised platform. The line going between the 1.5x6" wheels represent the bottom of the cross rails of a WCD (not including bellypan/etc).
depend on your situation obviously if you have totes stacked on the platform driving over it is out of the question unless you want to void the points for that. but if there are no totes yet by all means save the time and drive over the platform, if you want you could even keep an open path on one to ensure safe travels but remember its plastic wich could make things difficult
e: nvm. please delete
Double-check that you’re comfortable with this 0.25" clearance:
http://www.flybotix.com/files/frc/2015/ClearanceConsiderationsSide.JPG
.25 is plenty, but mine will have a wheel or 2 between those two, so no problem. pretty sure 4" wheels would work fine too:)
in the first picture, those are 6" wheels which do not bottom out. 4" wheels definitely bottom out.
Depending on the length of your base, you actually can get away with 4" wheels traveling over the platforms. However, with a WCD, you’ll need 6" wheels in case you catch the corner of the scoring platform with the front of the drivebase or if you want to drive along the length of the platform.
In short, going with 6" wheels is probably the better option.
Can someone just verify that 1in is enough clearance to not have to worry about the bump?
I don’t think catching on the edge of the incline is a deal breaker. While not the most elegant solution, HDPE is very slick plastic and your back wheels would still be touching the ground.
There’s also no defined frame perimeter this year, so you can do interesting things with that.
But if you go with an 8 wheel 4" drive, you could easily make sure that you don’t bottom out between wheels. That’s assuming you don’t go for a super long wheelbase.
To clarify, it’s the trackwidth that’s the challenge, not the wheelbase. As mentioned, adding additional wheels easily solves the challenges with the wheelbase when you’re travelling perpendicular to the scoring platform. However, if you’re travelling down the length of the platform (or at more extreme angles towards the platform), the width between your wheels may cause your robot to bottom out if you don’t have enough ground clearance.
oh right. Got it:)