So my team is just starting on our robot, and it seems like flags are a pretty big portion of the scoring. Most of the robot reveals I’ve seen have been either fly wheels or a sort of catapult-like launcher. Does anyone have a preference of one over the other or a different design that has worked?
I had built both a flywheel and a double ball catapult over the summer and I personally believe that the double ball catapults are very good for scoring the flags and will personally use one over a flywheel.
It depends on what you want to focus on, flags or caps, if your main goal is caps id say catapult, if your focus is flags, flywheels will be way more flexible while remaining efficient. So yeah fair enough.
When it comes to skills I think a flywheel will be dominate
Why so? I don’t see any difference between skills and tourney that would do anything to change your decision shooter wise
Driving while shooting, reload time, also I am in VexU so size constraints on the skills bot is 15x15x15
As vexU you can also use any numatics you want, you can have a super fast numatic puncher
I could, but I still am liking using a flywheel for flags with my skills bot. I could possibly use that on one of my match bots.
@Avery_8675A you could also use numatics to make a super fast Cascade lift
I plan on using pneumatics on all of my robots. We have been brainstorming some interesting mechanisms that use pneumatics.
@Avery_8675A good luck
Thanks, good luck to you too
Personally I think double catapult will prevail, with flywheel as a close second
i personally think flywheel will prevail just because of their versatility. With a double catapult, you are kinda locked into 1 shooting placement and 1 push would destroy you
But with a catapult you can turn it sideways so that when someone tries to come at you from the side you now can push back
Flywheels and catapults both have drive bases 
I’m pretty sure you can use that strategy no matter what launcher you have.
how do you intend on loading a sideways flywheel without a strafe drive?
What exactly do you mean? Your statement is unclear and I would really like to understand what you are trying to say because it sounds like an interesting strategy. Could you please attach a diagram or explain further or something?
Mount the catapult sideways so you drive perpendicular to the way you shoot the balls. This way, you cannot be pushed to the side. I think that’s what it meant.
If that is so, how is the loading mechanism any different than a flywheel? all you need is a series of properly places conveyors/rollers, and you can take the balls wherever you want.