When using flaps on an intake, sometimes the balls get stuck on top of the intakes, even if there are gaps in the intakes (the intakes are still spinning, so gaps don’t fully work). Would cutting the top of the flaps work? They would have a gradient like this:
Would this help in any way?
sure, that could work. teams cut flaps last year for their intakes for different reasons but it’s definitely something you can do. they also looks nicer than normal flaps if you do them neatly
it might work, could be worth a try if you have plenty of flaps to spare.
What method do people usually use to cut flaps?
aviation snips work fine
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I don’t have enough flaps to test it, if anyone is willing to try it…
That’s a cool idea, maybe it would force the balls in at a different angle?
it will be different in terms of effectiveness from robot to robot, only way to know for sure it will work for you is if you did it. but if you don’t have enough flaps, then don’t. try spacing the flaps more, tuning compression and spacing on your intakes to find that sweet spot.
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This seems like a great idea. Mind you, this might not be the only variable causing the balls to get stuck on top of the intakes. The intake angle (relative to the robot) and the amount of compression between the intakes could also play significant roles.
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What our team did for iq last year was add an extra link of chain and use hard connectors instead of the flaps. This meant that the amount of give was fixed and removed the grip of the flap as a factor so it wouldn’t do the thing where the flap just bends to grip the ball instead of sucking it in. Might be worth a shot in vrc.
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I did this. It seems to work really well with letting the balls come down onto the intakes. I used a razor blade and 45 angle square but scissors should work just fine.
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Teams usually just cut the flaps to keep the robot within size restrictions if they come close.
So, is it better than just regular flaps?
Video? A before and after comparison would be nice.
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