In the transition between the front flex wheel stage of our intake and the conveyor belt, the rings sometimes get caught on the hooks. The way this happens is they are rimed perfectly so the hooks make the turn around the sprocket right when the ring is there. I’m not sure how to fix this as we can’t lower the sprocket the intake turns on or the hooks will hit a support beam.
I’m assuming the support beam is that piece of plastic i see going across your hook intake. If the rings are hitting the top of the support, I would suggest just adding a spacer or two to move the support further from the actual hooks.
Also, is it possible to send a video of the issue happening? it might be easier to see the problem there.
The action happens at random and mainly while driving so I can’t get a video of it happening. However here’s a video of what it does when it gets stuck:
The piece of plastic is not the support beam I was referring to. The plastic is to prevent the ring from being thrown out. This is the support beam:
Some things you could try to diagnose the issue is to try and physically pull the chain while it is stuck. This might reveal a power/friction issue within the system, since i see the intake powered by 1 11w motor.
Another thing you could check for is any parts hitting each other on the way up. The problem is the video seems to be that the hook, which is at the bottom of the sproket, is hitting something, or pushing the ring onto something that is getting it stuck. You can then try and troubleshoot the issue by removing or moving certain parts.
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The conveyor spins fine on its own. Just when the ring is in that exact position, the hook pushes the ring outward instead of grabbing it. This causes the ring to push the floating intake until it can’t lift anymore and gets stuck.
One thing that helped was moving the sprocket up the ramp a hole, but I think the main issue is that the front intake spends a lot of time with the ring halfway up the ramp so there’s a higher chance it gets caught.
To me, it looks like the hook is pushing the ring into the flex wheels. Maybe put the flex wheels further forward? Giving the ring more space might introduce more problems though.
Turn motor off/make motor go reverse, drive backwards, try again?
Sorry if I can’t help you
Yeah I figured moving them forward would help, I’m just already at 18 inches. I am able to get it unstuck, I was just just hoping I could have it fixed for my auton. It seems to not happen as often though if I don’t push into the wall with the rings.
Is it possible to make you intake lift up further? Looking at the video and your description, it seems to me getting stuck when the ring pushes it up to it’s limit. I know that this may not be the most optimal, but if it possible to allow it to ‘float’ up more this issue may be fixed🤷♂️. Once you figure it out let us all know! I’m sure other teams are facing this issue too
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From the video and your description of the sticking ring, it looks like a fairly simple fix. I’ve listed 3 suggestions, but you may only need to do step 2.
You just need a bit more room between the Flex Wheels and the Rings at the exact point where it sticks so try:
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Try lengthening the two left and right pivot brackets from 7 holes to 9 or 10 holes.
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Now, raise the pivot mount 1 or 2 inches to give the ring more breathing room as it passes from stage one to stage two of your intake. I think If you do this step first, you might fix it without having to do anything else.
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Move that pivot point back a bit to give your longer bracket room to flex and live without exceeding your 18" size limit.
You might need to adjust your chain tension or length a tiny bit once you resize and reposition your intake.
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Thank you so much for the tips. I lengthened the metal to 10 holes like you suggested and moved it backwards and it is much better. If the problem continues I will try lifting it.
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