Hello so we have all seen the various ramps teams have come up with to deal with the tote chute. I have been designing one for my team and Ive come up with a few designs.
Passive design made with wood and polycarbonate.
2.non passive design with a window motor that raises and lowers the angle of the ramp in order to compensate for more then one tote at a time.
The non passive one is obviously better but would require a tether. My question is would the passive one require a tether too or would it just have to fit in transport configuration. Also does the ramp count towards total weight of the robot.
IF it does count towards the weight I would probably make a fully bent poly design.
Ok so I would make a bent lexan ramp the real question is what counts as a tether. Can We just use really think fishing line or if it needs to be visible high gauge red or black wire
I think you’re thinking of 148, and the visibility issue was (I believe) a thin black suspended cable between waist-high and head-high. A tether on the floor should be fine IMO if it isn’t attached to the floor and isn’t a trip hazard.
To be on the safe side I’d recommend using Mason’s line, a strong string that is usually available in high visibility pink or yellow at your local hardware store.
Not that since the ramp must be tethered to the robot at all times, it’s going to be important that the refs be able to visually determine that this is the case. If you’re using thin monofilament or something similar, you’re going to be doing a lot of arguing that the ramp was, in fact, tethered to the robot during the match.
I don’t believe so.
I’d love to see some sort of “anchor” used in addition to the ramp, tethered to the robot and the ramp, which allows the tether pivot to be centered in a more convenient location.
Don’t know if that’s truly beneficial, but it seems it would be. I’m pretty sure Alfred does this in addition to his main feature.
Yes, this. Just because a fishing line is legal, does not mean you should use it. I would suggest some thing stiff enough and thick enough that it can be driven over without getting caught in rollers on mecanum or omni wheels and is unlikely to be caught by belts or chains. Oh and clearly visible against the carpet. Nothing makes you unpopular like disabling alliance partners by getting your tether stuck in their drive train
Do you have any recommendations for cheap light cable or wire. My first thought is red 16 or 14 gauge wire. But being I’m no mechanical expert I’m not sure if that’s optimal.
I would have to do some testing but, I would guess vinyl coated 1/8" cable should work pretty well. Stiff enough to not be easy to tangle up in drive trains small enough to be almost unnoticed by wheels of most types, and available in a variety of bright colors to contrast against both blue and red. If you have a robot from previous years around, go grab some cable from the Orange colored big box store and drive over it a bunch.