we have a problem. we need to get the ball from the elevator to the fly wheel. how do we do it? we have 11 motors and are very confused. all help is appreciated
the image is tilted to the left if you are wondering
You could use lexan or bent metal to create a slight arc around both sides of the elevator, so the elevator can spin nicely, but once a ball reaches the top, the elevator flaps push the ball up around the arc and into the flywheel. Sorry if that is not the best explanation, I can provide a drawing if this design seems to be of interest to you.
please. I kinda get it but not 100%
Here is my sketch.
(Yes, the sketch is sideways, my apologies.)
You would also have one plate below the flywheel that helps compress the ball between it and the arc so that the ball does not simply drop back to the bottom. One potential flaw with this design is that it wouldn’t allow you to retract the balls once they touch the flywheel, meaning that if you lift the balls too far, you have a problem. You may have to move your elevator and shooter slightly closer for this to work.
If you would prefer an active approach instead of a passive approach, you could chain two intake wheels together that grab onto the balls when they reach a certain height and push them into the shooter. This would allow retraction of balls, but just keep in mind, this would use a motor.
The last option is to move the flywheel and elevator closer so that the wheels grab onto the balls once they reach a certain height.
I see what you mean but do you think it is possible to attach extra chain to the current chain to bring it to the launcher when the elevator is working?
Yes, of course. It would be a separate section of chain though. Just keep in mind, the more a motor runs, the more stress on the motor. Run it too much and it will stall. Consider making it run by two motors if you have no use for the extra motor that remains (as you are only using 11).
i would go with something like what g_sawchuk said, and it shouldnt be hard to change the chain from what you have Now to something like this. and then add the curved piece of metal g_sawchuk was talking about so that the tread has a piece od metal to push the ball against and provide traction. As you can see in the second image, the chain will start to take on a triangle formation
sorry for the low quality images, i just quick sketched up that CAD model and i also didn’t feel like making it the small green sprockets that you have, i just left them as tank tread sprockets
We used the same ramp mechanism, works well you don’t need more than that. And like other people were saying if the ball doesn’t come out of the intake then add more chain.