Lift Idea for Vex Override Robot, Which is Best?

VEX V5 General Discussion General Forum
1

These past few days we’ve been doing research on the different types of lifts for vex override, mainly Cascade and Double-Reverse 4 Bar (DR4B). What is a good lift for solo zoning, and what is easier and faster to build and fix if there are any issues. We’ve taken note of the pros and cons of each lift.

DR4B Pros and Cons:

Cons

  • Goes in a circle only

  • Heavy

  • Big

  • Goes in middle

  • Has to go in the middle where the brain is

Pros

  • Can hide the lift

  • Will be easy to get pins

  • Can have a good intake and outtake

  • Hard to see what it is

  • Will get the right size

  • Easy for weight distribution

Cascade Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Light weight
  • Small/compact
  • Has reach
  • Easy to build

Cons

  • Not high
  • Small
  • Uses 30

Also, if you have any building tips for these lifts, please go over them. Thank you!

2

What do you mean when you say that the cascade uses 30

3

Sorry for the confusion, these are the notes our team took. By 30 we mean we’ve been thinking about using 30 hole (15 inches) aluminum C-Channels for the cascade.

A couple videos we watched while researching

Cascade Video Link

DR4B Video Link

4

I’d argue that cascades would be best because they have the most height since theyre the easiest to add stages.

5

A lot of your pros and cons make no sense.

What does this mean?

Are these the same thing?

What dies this mean?

Also,you put small as a pro and a con for cascade.

6

I don’t really agree with some of your pros/cons here. DR4B’s actually go straight up and down, as the circular movement of both four bars cancel out. They can also be mounted at multiple points on your robot, not just the middle. Cascades probably have some of the best height for size ratio. They go straight up and down, as opposed to a dr4b that has angles that lose height. Cascades, in my opinion, are also more complex to get working well.

7

For the DR4B, what do you mean by “Goes in a circle only”? Are you referring to the backside of the lift moving out a bit as it unextends? I’m curious as to why that is a con for your design.

8

Im just gonna go over each one first

DR4B Pros and Cons:

Cons

  • Goes in a circle only - This is not true DR4Bs have linear motion.

  • Heavy - This is likely true a structurally strong DR4B uses ~16 beams give or take

  • Big - ig so since it spans the bot, however, the space in-between is usually empty so now its more about not if its relatively big, but more of how much space does it take up.

  • Goes in middle - ???

  • Has to go in the middle where the brain is - ???

Pros

  • Can hide the lift - ??? what does this mean

  • Will be easy to get pins - this does not depend on the lift but more of the claw

  • Can have a good intake and outtake - any lift can have a good intake or outtake, you just have to build your intake well

  • Hard to see what it is - im lost

  • Will get the right size - do you mean height? if so this is more about the code and sensing rather than mechanical design

  • Easy for weight distribution - valid. unlike the cascade where the CoG is increasing in the x direction as well, the DR4B keeps the x vector of the CoG constant

Cascade Pros and Cons:

Pros

  • Light weight - again depends on how many stages you have however, I would say around ~8-10 so definitely lighter than DR4B (but not light)

  • Small/compact - disagree, the cascade actually is kind of bulky and will be an interference that you have to work around on your robot.

  • Has reach - all lifts have reach, and btw this contradicts your con that says its not high.

  • Easy to build - disagree, cascade is actually harder to build than DR4B and requires A LOT more tuning to get the friction perfect and the rigging optimised.

Cons

  • Not high - again you just contradicted yourself and also there are high cascades.

  • Small - why are you contradicting yourself again. also even if its small how is this a con

  • Uses 30 - ???