What kind of PTO for mix and match?
Differential
Pros: No pneumatics, fast output change, two output directions
Cons: heavy, takes up LOTS of space
Slide
Pros: swift output change, two output directions
Cons: requires pneumatics, takes up LOTS of space
Gravity
Pros: no pneumatics, easy to build
Cons: one direction output, slower motor changing speed
latch
Pros: easy to build, two output directions
Cons: slower output change, takes up more space
I think we’ll see a lot less PTO play this year as there aren’t as many functions requiring motors. That is unless conveyor bots start coming up in the meta and you need motor share for that.
If you also have only 2 features needed to be powered, you could also have 4 motor drive and a 2 motor diffy.
Yet, I think there may only be need to power 1 feature with motors besides drive, give me like two weeks and once exams are over I’ll drop a reveal.
Let’s say you use a pneumatic ratchet, no motors. And theoretically, you could use a pneumatic, if you wanted to, so you could power the flipping/turning mechanism of the pins as to get the 121 point stack, this would be required. However, you also have to think, moving around fast is part of the game, but going too fast might become a problem as you might knock over pins, though experienced drivers could easily avoid this. All of this is just suggestions for teams.
May I ask the point of a Pneumatic ratchet? Our claw purely pneumatic claw and flipping mechanism work great and allow for a 4 motor drive with a 2 motor lifting system used for both the beam and pin.
Instead of a claw, an efficient version of this: (I call it a byte mech)
It can grab both a pin and a beam. If you add the pneumatic 180 flipping thingi you could make 3m H drive with a 2m lifting mech and a 1m byte mech.
Depends on the situation. I ran all of these at some point during rapid relay, depends on the robot and what you want to motorshare.
I just fail to see the need for a PTO this year unless the meta shifts to having two lifting mechanisms.
However, 1 pneumatic claw can also pickup both a beam and a pin while saving a motor which would allow for 4 motor drive or X-Drive.
Diffy is honestly goated if you make sure you have the space and parts. It has the least amount of friction, and has incredibly fast switching. The only problem with the diffy is that a poorly built diffy can break frequently, and many people don’t have sufficient parts to build a diffy.
