Flywheel can't shoot?

VEX IQ General Discussion
1

Hi all,

My team started this year, and we have decided to use a flywheel robot. However, the flywheel can’t boost the ball up to the required speed and distance. The flywheel stops when the ball touches it before being sped up back to speed.

Our gear ratio on the flywheel is 1:10. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide pictures for this, but I will try to provide them as soon as possible. My teammates said we need to increase the torque, as we can literally stop the flywheel by touching it with our hands or the ball. I think we need to increase the gear ratio to 1:20 to gain momentum so it is harder to stop. One of my teammates even said the flywheel shouldn’t push the ball but instead fling it when the ball touches it slightly.

If anyone has more experience, please let me know what my team and I might be doing wrong. Thanks a lot!

2 Likes
2

Try increasing the gear ratio to 1:25, as that is the standard gear ratio for flywheels. How are you pushing the ball into the flywheel? As the ball may be getting stuck inside the flywheel. Torque is not a problem as the flywheel will be moving so fast that the flywheel wont have enough time to decrease. Lastly, are you using pneumatics to tilt the flywheel? As a faulty pneumatic pump may be suspect.

4 Likes
3

We are currently pushing the ball by hand as we are still testing, no pneumatics are used yet. The flywheels will expand out for space for the ball and lanch.

4

Send pictures of robot and code….

5

my team used a flywheel last year for over under, I think you should try adding more mass to the flywheel as that makes it harder to stop, but it takes longer to accelerate

1 Like
6

that may be causing your flywheel problem. Try using a bar to push it in instead.

7

Is there a specific model of your robot that might be a good comparison of your robot either online or on the VEX website? As it might help me with the solving of your predicament. However, even so, this is only my second year doing robotics, so I can only be as much help as my knowledge of VEX allows me.

8

He said he was unable to provide pictures of the robot.

1 Like
9

My team is trying to make something similar to the flywheel robot in this video.

10

I made a flywheel as well, but I can’t seem to get to high goal. I’ve tried to turn up the ramp angle and the ball was still moving too slow. My flywheel gear ratio is 20:1 at 2000 rpm. Anyone might know why?

11

Im making a follow up video likely soon with antoher flywheel so hopefully that will help.

12

Photos and descriptions would be helpfull.

13

20:1 is geared for torque, not speed. Thats 20 rotation input gives 1 rotation output. Did you mean the opposite way round?

14

Yes. Also I realised I could get it working myself! :slight_smile: thx!

15

is there standard notion for gear ratios? I think the first number should be input (ie the motor) and second number the output- the flywheel here.

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yeah I believe its unput first, then output.