So my team is trying to mount our intake, and we need it to be at ~ an 80° or 85° angle. We’re trying to mount it without having to shave, cut, or bend any metal, but nothing we do seems to work. What would the best method of going about this be? We have an X-Drive so mounting points are limited.
I’m not gonna be one of those “build my bot for me” guys, but I just want some advice.
Attached is an (outdated) picture of our intake, but the ramp itself is the same right now. (the top 2-wide is not there currently)
Triangles are your friend. Try to make a triangle by moving it around and seeing which holes align. If you’re having trouble mounting the triangle try using standoffs or shaft collars.
For us, using 1x1 angle and then having a standoff run into it at an angle to create a right triangle with the desired angle worked very well for our intake
If you need a non-standard length strut for bracing, you could try coupling a standoff with some shaft collars. You can adjust the length and use washers for fine adjustments. They’re not as durable as a machined metal piece, but they work fairly well. (I think this might be what EcstaticPilot meant.)
The angle of that shooter seems a bit too steep, you may not be able to get it into the goal with it that high, or be able to get the disc into the robot. You may want to make it closer to a 45 degree angle.
I’ll offer a couple additional tips, if I’m not overstepping…
I’d switch out that KEPS nut for a nylock against the collar on the bottom of the strut. Any flex/vibration will help to loosed the KEPS on that joint.
It also works well sometimes to attach the strut to a pillow block bearing. It can avoid those long attachment screws with the spaces that can bend and flex.
We are a fan of using a ‘sacrificial’ piece of metal instead of bending/cutting expensive c-channel aluminum. Take some 1x steel strapping/flat stock, cut to length, bend, screw down. Sort of use it as a hinge, then brace using traditional methods.
The steel 1x flat strapping bends fairly easily and can be straightened when you are done with it with no cracking/fatigue like AL often experiences.
