Shock absorbers for v5

VEX Robotics Competition Discussion V5RC > High Stakes (24/25)
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I was wondering if vex pistons could be used as shock absorbers if the output hole was small enough to slow down airflow, kinda like anti slam doors.
I need some reliable absorbers for my intake that falls down.

2

If you have them on a separate pressure regulator and downregulate the pressure to a specific PSI (through testing), they could function that way. However, the bigger question is: why do you need ‘shock absorbers’ instead of hard stops? Using pistons for this purpose seems unnecessarily complicated.

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3

Thank you, the main reason to use pistons my intake for high stakes has downward force on it by means of rubber bands, If I were just to use like some sort of spring it would counter act the force of the bands but for this use I need it to absorb the impact but not cancel out the force of the rubber bands,
Also Because it swings down from a high point for expansion with the force of rubber bands I need a good absorber (I’ve had lots of bent metal). Yes I know its quite unnecessarily complex

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5

Let’s just say I need a lot more stopping power than a rubber bumper

6

How about 2 rubber bumpers?

In all seriousness though, how many bands do you have on your intake? Can we see photos?

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How heavy is this intake lol?

Without any images of your project/issue - no clue what you need.

But as a general idea, one of our teams used a half of a large flexwheel last year to absorb the shock of a triball kicker. Pretty reliable - many dryfires and no RUDs. Overkill for sure for a falling intake but…

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8

It has 2 rubber bands that are folded over 4 times.
But I actually did not think of that, using a flex wheel is a good solution (although it would be fun to experiment with pneumatics).

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I’m not sure why you can’t use a rubber bumper. My team just used two pieces of plexiglass for our last intake and it fell down pretty hard every match. Also, I feel like pneumatics would be a bit overkill (although you’re right, it would be fun to experiment).

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My teams intake has problems I think I’m just going to do the flex wheels

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