Those sheets aren’t metal, but a slippery FRP material. What floor surface are you testing on? The FRP sheets allow the ramps to slide, if you’re testing on a carpet floor or similar that would introduce a lot of friction. We’ve found that even with the sheets it can get stuck if we’re not careful about the setup.
There’s a definitely a variable you’re missing, our MK4i modules and those of other teams get on just fine. I think Cforbes had great suggestions, perhaps one of those?
26"x26", 63 lbs. We tested it on a smooth floor (not as smooth as marble though), however, the robot would push the charging station a few inches. We tested it on a carpet, but the carpet seems to have too much friction against the charging station’s ramp.
I think you have had something going on because we get on the charge stations almost every match we could in last weekends competition with no major issues with the mk4i L2 modules. Do you happen to know if your L1 , L2 or L3?
I think you have had something going on because we get on the charge stations almost every match we could in last weekends competition with no major issues with the mk4i L2 modules
You have the same exact setup we do. Strange . Do you have any limits or anything like that on your drive controls that would limit your ability to provide enough power to get up the angle of incline?
We noticed a drastic difference in friction coefficients between an unfinished plywood surface and polycarbonate. The bumper would stick to the wood and push it forward rather than down.
When you tested it on the smooth floor, you could not engage the ramp because it slid out. When you tried it on the carpet, for whatever reason, the ramp bound rather than engaged (creating the proper approach angle). I would not be surprised if it was due to the hinges binding somehow. Mind you, this is all conjecture.
If you have a wooden charging station and are that far underweight, odds are you will have trouble manipulating it regardless of drivetrain configuration.
We have a test chassis with similar specifications (SDS MK4, 27" SQ, Ballasted to around 75-80lbs) and a Wooden Charge station with Polycarbonate overlay and our test Chassis will not climb it without help. If someone tips the CS slightly (about 1/4 travel) in favor of the test chassis, it makes it’s way up and on without issue.
The real charging station will have better characteristics (probably) than what you’re used to, though you’re still going to fight a hard battle being so light.
YMMV, but our robot sometimes struggles to get up onto the charging station we built at home.
At our first event it was buttery smooth going on. For our autos we set it to end in the middle and that worked enough to engage our auto leveling once it got there.
I need to double check but I don’t think we have polycarb on top, but we might. We certainly discussed it at one point.
The real charge station is easier to get on than the wooden one, by most accounts. Also, you said you tried testing without bumpers. Have you tried testing with bumpers? We found it considerably easier to climb with bumpers.
We had the same issues with practice charging stations. You need to have it not move at the base but allow the ramps to slide easily. Otherwise it just wont function as intended.
I havent seen any practice charge stations that work the same as the field one, they all act a bit differently.
