"Squishyness" of the ball is affecting my shot

VEX Robotics Competition Discussion VRC > Nothing But Net (15/16)
#1

I have a dual flywheel in a 1 to 15 gear ratio. I have noticed that shooting “squishier balls” we get a shorter distance shot. How can i prevent this? How could i shoot every single ball in the same place?
Thanks in advance

#2

One way is to change the angle of your shooter to an almost straight line with the high goal instead of an arched trajectory and set the motors to a high speed(127). This way, your accuracy will depend less on the ball “squishyness” because it will enter the high goal bouncing off the back of the net.

#3

Or use a single flywheel
see here for more

#4

the single fly wheel does not help with squishiness directly, however it will improve your accuracy, this is because a single flywheel system gives balls considerable spin, this brings into play the Magnus effect which gives you a nice arc, but also creates spin-stabilization, making the ball less prone to changes in course and more stable in flight, this effect can also be achieved with a fly wheel shooter.
this depends really on your shooter design, if your dual flywheel involves only two wheels then it will be more difficult for you, I would recommend putting a second wheel on each shaft, this opens up possibilities for creating spin, and also, will automatically center the ball between the two wheels, improving accuracy.
so if you wheels are side by side, what you can do is make the low wheel (assuming you have to wheels on each shaft) larger in diameter by wrapping it in rubber bands, this will grab the lower section of the ball better, thus giving it back spin (the good kind of spin) if your wheels are one above the other, you can either change the space between the two wheels (ie space the top wheels further apart, this will again make the lower wheels grip more and spin the ball) or you could use code to spin the bottom wheel faster then the top wheel, this is the option my team uses

#5

I thought your robot had horizontal flywheels? have you changed your design from the reveal you previously posted?

#6

we have changed our design, kind of, our shooter was self contained, so after our last competition we just took it, turned it 90 degrees and re-mounted it, we made several other changes as well, we look to have an update video next weekend

#7

Reduce compression

Gear up to RPM > 3000

#8

I look forward to seeing the changes you made!

#9

Same here I can’t wait.

#10