What ideas do people have for constructing and/or deploying a ramp? I was also wondering if anyone has tested the ability of an X-Drive to drive up inclines.
Here is a video of an X-drive climbing a ramp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYeH54Bqyss
To me it seems a bit clumsy, but that just may be that this is so early in the season.
I would suggest using pneumatic pistons to deploy a ramp. You could also use a motor to do it if you do not own any pneumatic kits.
Another lifting mechanism I want to try out is a weight and pulley kit. Have the weight drop down lifting the other bot on a platform, but the weight would have to be decently heavy and we would have to construct a mechanism to release it without bending metal or damaging our robot.
You could use a similar tactic using rubber bands instead, as that would deal less damage to your robot and reduce the size and weight of your robot.
I’m not sure how exactly to go about doing this, but if you could have the ramp deploy passively (say, by running into a wall, releasing a pin allowing some elastics to cause the ramp to deploy) you wouldn’t need to use either a motor or pneumatics. Of course, you run the risk of the ramp accidentally deploying that way.
I like the ramp deployment system 
(I did see the pneumatics though). If we build a ramp-bot over our launcher, I’m definitely putting walls on the sides of the ramp after watching that video.
i was thinking about this earlier i have had a couple thoughts about doing it pneumatic pistons and sliders to put it into place for the partner bot.
Just curious, how does this team have the official field setup? Did VEX start shipping them? Wondering because I have had one on back order since basically the day you could order them…still don’t have it.
I’ve been wondering the same thing. Pembroke Academy received fields for competition, and I believe that there was just one recently in Maryland. These are teams that are receiving more practice time now with the actual field set up.
I feel that even in Worlds, ramp climbing would be a difficult task. Unless alliances practice together, it won’t be easy climbing up ramps.
Even if they have the necessary skill, each ramp is different and the robot will have to adapt to many different ramps. I predict some alliances would have to modify their robot to suit their other alliance.
I feel like a wider ramp with guides would be much easier to climb. Tank drives also probably have a much easier time of it than X drives.