Hi everyone, we here at 9062 are busy cooking up something new. Instead of attempting a custom design in 3 days like an average Ri3D team, we will be streaming a speedrun of the recommended kitbot build today and tomorrow on our Youtube channel!
We are planning to go live tonight around 6pm so we can answer questions and work through some intake prototypes, followed by the kitbot itself being assembled on Sunday, January 7th. Seeing it is our first time attempting a speedrun, it likely won’t be a world record or anything. The goal of this is to bring together new members, community volunteers, and FRC alumni to try out the new robot design for 2024 and figure out its strengths and weaknesses.
I’ll update this thread with links to videos today and tomorrow, with some details on the testing of mechanisms and analysis of the RDQ 2024 speedrun robot!
Definitely. This is our way of testing out the standardized robot so we know what to expect of alliance partners and how to help others improve their kitbots. If there’s a part of the bot that has a tendency to fall apart, we have 6 weeks to engineer a solution for our friends.
So, what a wonderful game! This is a nice challenge that evens the playing field for rookies and veterans alike. Join us on our youtube channel listed in the previous post to check out our progress on the RDQ kitbot!
Sorry for the tech issues! Our stream is back up and we are working on the second part of the RDQ: the ring shooter. If time permits we will have it running by 10pm!
Hey everyone, thanks to those who joined the stream and asked questions, we appreciate the support! We have a full base chassis and will be finishing the shooter either tonight or tomorrow.
Ideal intake wheels have been tested and determined to be the 40A banebots flex wheels (3" tested vs non-compliant wheels of different durometers)
9062 can confirm at this time we are going to be modifying the kitbot as a prototyping base, and in the following weeks we will be creating a more custom solution for ourselves.
Thanks to all who joined our stream and asked questions. We completed the physical fabrication and assembly work, and will be modifying the kitbot from here on out to be slightly more competitive. Wiring and Programming did not finish on time, however we are confident we’ll have it driving within the week (should we film a practice match?)
What works:
Wheels are the best available for grippiness against the notes. Seriously, we tried more than 25 different wheels types to find the best one and the 40A shore durometer AM wheels specifically won out compared to Banebots, Vex, WCP, and other durometers of the same make.
Compression was good. Ri3D Cranberry Alarm has an interesting shooter design that may prove easier to calibrate, but the simplicity of a 4" compression against a hard stop is tough to deny. I personally like how easy it is to replace parts if the shooter plates take damage.
Ease of intake. Instead of scrambling to make a ground intake, this build relies on the source for its notes. This works well as it gives others a challenge they can build up to, rather than all the answers in one box.
What we changed:
Width of the robot. In order to eventually use this as a climb prototype, we made sure our robot was 24" wide. This means the robot is 3" thinner than the original build, and we are going to work on mounting a modified shooter onto it tomorrow. Pictures to follow then when I know it works well.
Kitbot wheels. To improve grip against defense, we chose to replace the 80A standard wheels with 60A black AM wheels of the same variety. We also added 2 omni wheels onto the side opposite the shooter, for slightly improved handling.
Things to improve on:
Compression. Since making the shooter thinner, we will be removing the internal 1" box tube that holds the 2" note backing plate in order to replace it with hook and loop tape from the kit. This will cut down on weight up top and allow for easy replacement for modifying the grip material on that side. We might try out a 3M grip tape that is included in the 2024 kit, as it looks like it might improve rotation of the notes when shot.
Wiring. As I mentioned, it isn’t done. We ran out of time to add the spark MAXes for the shooter. This will get done in the next few days so we can test shots on a field mockup.
Teleop code. We did not have a programmer onsite for Day 2, so we did not get around to trying out the code made by FIRST. Looks cool though, can’t wait to try this week.
Other Findings
Don’t use 6+" wheels for shooting. The grip on 6" wheels is not grippy enough to shoot efficiently.
Colson wheels do not work as shooter wheels, at least not as well as the 40-50A durometer wheels from BB and AM.
A larger front catchment chute would be great for intaking when you are not 100% aligned to the Source.
Today we finished the electrical, and changed the width of the kitbot to accommodate the skinnier chassis frame. Total robot is 24" in width and the standard height. We will be altering the kitbot code tomorrow on account of different motor controllers.
What works now:
Kitbot should be capable of source intake and shooting now, just with a slightly higher compression. Notes will be harder to launch due to the high compression but we’ll burn that bridge when we get there.
We have a solid plan on upgrades this week and will be documenting them when we get the chance. Current goal is a smoother intake method. We need to swap the wheels around so the omnis are on the side that spends more time off the ground.
Plans for this week:
We intend to stream at some point this weekend when we have a better feel for code and intaking. I’d like to try to shoot a few to get a feel for ideal compression and grip.
YouTube shorts are coming, just got delayed today due to some CAD work for 9062’s actual robot.
Out robot intakes properly now, thanks to modifying the intake angle slightly. We’ve noticed a very steep leftwards angle for our note shots, which is likely to be experienced on other kitbots this season.
We tested 4" compliant wheels as a ground intake under bumper and they work. Did not complete the mechanism because our V1 robot has other plans.
Shifting the 1x1" end stop lower in the shooter greatly increases momentum of shot, but can get stuck if given too much room to fall down. From our research it is probably best for teams doing the kitbot shooter to lower the tube by 1-2".
We will be updating here if we do decide to play around with this robot for outreach and robot demos, but for now we do not have plans in place to keep developing its mechanisms. Thank you again to everyone who tuned in and happy building!
When you shoot, are you spinning up the top wheel first? That could be a cause of the left hook, we’ll have ours done by Saturday so I’ll make sure we take a look at that.
We are. It was the only way to get the speed needed to lift it up to scoring height. This likely has to do with use compressing the width of the kitbot down 3", so the shot is more compressed and releases to the left.
Well, it was good while it lasted. As of tomorrow at 9:30 AM, the parts used to make our RDQ 2024 robot, MAX GAIN, will be donated to a local team as a part of FIRST Canada and Studica’s quickbuild sessions. Team 9062 will be releasing our in-season robot reveal in time for the ONT Newmarket District Event on March 8th, so stay tuned for that!