Here is some video of our final design for the Minibot. Climb time is slightly less than 4 seconds. Our deploy time is about 1 second. So that gives us a total of 5 seconds. Video of deploying coming soon. We use a 4 way switch to create a feedback loop in the motors to slow the descent. We did find that sometimes the bot would get stuck at the top, so we installed a limit switch to break the feedback loop briefly. Once the minibot drops an inch off the top the feedback loop is enabled again and the minibot comes down nice and slow.
Very nice design! How do the wheels latch on?
The wheels and motors are attached to arms that pivot at the base. The arms are held apart by pins 7" apart. When these are retracted by a pneumatic cyclinder the wheels close onto the tower and up we go. Team 166, The Chop Shop, has some very good videos on youtube. We used their deployer as a starting point for ours. Thanks Chop Shop!!!
I do have to caution against making a “final” design on a component you’re allowed to keep indefinitely after ship…
Looks solid though.
Looks like a great start. In the video I notice your drive wheels slipping a lot. Find a way to pinch the bar more to increase your traction, and most importantly your speed.