I wanted to build a catapult into my robot, and I know how the basics of a catapult, and how it works. I just don’t know how to get started on building a catapult into this space(the big space in the middle of the drive train). 
Hey @RoboKid, designers and engineers are actually faced with this problem a lot.
During the design phase, there generally comes a time when we know how all of the parts work independantly, but not together. In your case, it looks like we know how the drivetrain and the intake will work together no problem. But we don’t know how the drivetrain, chassis, and the catapult will interface. Nor do we know how the intake willl interact with the catapult.
When I am faced with this sort of dilemma I try one of two things:
- I sit and cry silently while feeling bad for myself. I will wonder why I hadn’t taken the time to build everything all at once and get sad that it isn’t working out how I wanted it to.
- I slap together a really crappy version (either in CAD or in real life if I am using IQ) and try to make everything work. I am then able to slowly chip away at all of the things that do not work exactly how I expected them to.
Based on your post, I cannot tell if you have a working catapult. If I was in your situation, I might make a working shooter mechanism just so I can slap in onto my robot. There are many ways to get to a working shooter mechanism. Fling has literal step by step instructions for a single Ball catapult, and there are loads of examples of double catapults and flywheel shooters out there.
Make one and attach it to your robot, even if it doesn’t fit in box or the intake doesn’t feed it correctly and report back!
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Underrated post right here ladies and gentlemen. Well done Sidoti.
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