One of the VEX Robotics interns built a robot that kicks the VEX Clean Sweep game objects. Pretty cool, uses a gear with some teeth sanded off to achieve the “release / re-engage” motion.
http://jvengineering.blogspot.com/2010/07/vex-robot-charlies-football-kicker.html
Lucky guys at vexLabs… unlimited funds… expendable parts (I would cringe if I shaved off the teeth of one of my gears)
But nice robot, though. Can you show us a video of how far at shoots the ball instead of just seeing the robot kick it?
I’m a little confused as to how it works. The assembly winds up all the way, then the kicker trips by hitting the part of the gear with teeth sheared off. Wouldn’t the mechanism just “want” to spin backwards (into the teeth the gear was just touching) rather than “forwards” (further away from the gear’s last teeth)? I’m sure I’m missing some huge part of the design I can’t make out.
It is the gear that is earlier in the gear chain that has teeth shaved off. Watch this video i think it will make it really clear.
~DK
Oh, that makes perfect sense. I got hung up on assuming the sheared gear was the output gear.