30 Likes
Nice job! I think you have the right idea with the external goal elevating.
4 Likes
I really like how you were able to place goals on the platform from the side, and I am impressed with how many functions you could do easily and effectively with only using two motors and two cylinders. I would be worried about running out of air if each time you need to pick up a ring you needed to use a cylinder. I would suggest looking into a passive intake (there are examples elsewhere on the forum if needed), however, this comes with the disclaimer that I have not used pneumatics, so you might be fine, especially if you prioritize loading goals onto the platform (which I think would be the case, because of your nifty side-loading technique). The only other thing I think you should consider is making a latch system to hold the goal on the lift so it does not accidentally fall off (see 2:16 in the video). I would think some mechanism that flips into the “bowl” of the goal when the lift goes up to its maximum height, but quickly removes itself when the lift is lowered slightly (assuming you have enough clearance with the side of the platform to not have your lift at max height and still get over it. I also realize this is a RI3D, so you likely did not have the time to develop such a system). Again, well done, I feel like a 6 motor drive will be formidable to play against if you were going to push other robots around.
3 Likes
Lol that would’ve been extremely helpful while driving it! It tended to drop the goals fairly easily if the bot turned around or drove the other way too quickly. We had designed a pneumatic latch, but it was going to be used on the other side of the bot so that it could park with 3 mobile goals.
For the ring mechanism we had a passive system mostly developed, but it didn’t work well with the lift so we had to scrap it for time. Apparently pneumatic tanks are supposed to hold enough air for 40 actuations! It probably doesn’t account for air pressure being lost while waiting for the match to start though. Our design was mostly build around competing in the skills challenge, so we figured that if it could score 8 rings on the tall mobile goal that that’d be enough.
Thanks for the comment!
6 Likes