With our field elements complete we spent today building a few prototypes and testing them.
Note Roller Testing
We built a simple test platform to test how the note interacts with rollers. We wanted to see how easily we could route the note in any direction we wanted and do some simple ground intake tests. We also built to test different scoring options for the amp, and trap.
Ground Intake
We used it as a ground intake test platform. This was very successful, the note is able to pop up the 2” roller easily and go into the slot, vertical, or 180 deg over the roller depending on how we spin the wheels.
Video
Amp
We were able to use the note roller to test scoring in the Amp from a low angle. This worked very easily.
Video
Video
Trap
We were able to use the note roller mechanism to test scoring in the trap as well. The trap door is fairly similar to the real field, it has 2.8 lbs of steel at a similar location to the real field, and it’s made of ¼” polycarb at the field dimensions (minus the microphone cutout at the top). It has the same distance backstop as the field. It doesn’t include the actual basket to catch the note like the field has.
Video
Video
Note Roller Conclusions
The note is very forgiving to spacing, roller softness, etc. It will follow the travel of most any wheel/roller that it contacts and easily go around tight curves. It’s a very nice game piece for moving around your robot in different ways.
Launcher
We built a quick launcher test fixture out of our prototyping blocks and some old wheels, motors, and gearboxes. We use a test bed with a PDB, main breaker, speed controllers, and PWM signal generator to control multiple motors at once.
This specific version was for us to get some quick in-person experience of how the note flies. We will improve the prototype to begin to work on accuracy and design specifics such as wheel type, compression, etc.
Video
Climb
This wasn’t so much a prototype as just a test. We had an old chassis that we hung from the chain to see how the CG effects a holding position up near the trap.
More Videos
There are more videos and photos of our prototypes and testing in our gallery - https://photos.spectrum3847.org/2024-FRC/Build-Season
Design Recap
We listed out some various robot types we have seen, sketched, talked about, etc. The slides are linked with their source for current year designs.
We are currently leaning towards a launcher elevator+pivot robot type, it would use its adjustable angle launcher and elevator to score in the amp and then the trap once it’s climbed.
Today was our first day back in class from winter break. We were able to get some more testing done and sketched through some new ideas.
Intake Tests
We worked on testing a narrow intake. There isn’t a lot of room between the swerve modules for an intake so we wanted to make sure we could compress the note to an oval as we intake and it looks very possible. This intake in the video is 9 inches wide between the printed wedges on the side.
Video
A progression of climber tests
We were able to test a climber concept with an elevator to pull down on the chain and a pair of “sticks” to stop us from twisting on the wall. We tested various features to see how they would work in this setup.
High Passive Roller
We don’t currently have a video of the successful unweighted test (it hasn’t been uploaded yet by a student) but you can see in this clip that the robot does start to want to climb the wall before succumbing to the fact it was a hastily built prototype on top of a chassis we were going to discard before the build season. (It’s missing many of its rivets and gussets).
We’ll repair it tomorrow and get some tests done with a powered roller and the weighted plate and see if that works as well.
New main design path
As we were working through the geometry of a tilting launcher+feeder on an elevator we realized that we needed to be able to move the launcher a little further back from the elevator/pivot so that when we tip up it pushes forward towards the amp and trap. That also lets us get a little more length and shooting from further back in your robot is largely a good thing if there is a defender. As we extended it further and further we realized the robot started to resemble the Ri3D robot from Unqualified Quokkas with a long arm and angled feeder+launcher. This afternoon we were able to make a sketch and Krayon CAD of a robot that doesn’t have an elevator but is still able to reach high enough to score in the amp and that with a reasonable climb can put the note into the trap.
Looking at another person’s robot sketches is often like trying to read a foreign language but the basic idea is the box is our launcher+feeder it gets notes from the underbumper floor intake. It tilts up to launch into the speaker and tilts to the black box position to launch down into the amp or down into the trap once we raise 20”+ on the stage.
We also did a quick KrayonCAD
- Blue = under-bumper intake
- Green = Feeder+Launcher
- Yellow arms = pivot to launch/amp angle and react against the stage wall for the climb
- Wheels = drive up the stage wall
- Transparent arms = climb arms: grab the chain and pull it down to almost touch our bumpers.
We still have a lot more testing to do on this concept but it meets a large amount of our design goals. We are working on ways to effectively feed this robot from the source directly instead of only using the ground intake. This design is limited by needing to wait till out from under the stage before it tilts up its launcher to aim at the speaker. The advantages are it doesn’t have any linear motion, only rotary joints which are pretty easy to build robustly and control.
We were able to continue working on prototypes, not as much to show off yet but we should have some more this weekend.
Elevator+Wheel Climber Prototypes
We do have the continuation of the elevator+wheel climber prototypes from yesterday.
Passive Roller - High on Wall - unweighted
Passive Roller - High on Wall - Weighted
Powered Roller - High on Wall - Weighted
Thru-frame Intake
We also worked on ideas for the frame. After seeing 95’s intake plan we were pretty sure we wanted to do something similar if we could make it work. However, we also wanted to keep access for maintenance on our swerve modules and not change how the MK4is mounted that much. As we sketched it we realized we could probably intake the note through a gap in the frame. The concept below uses 2x1 and 1x1 to extend the belly pan 1 inch lower than a standard Mk4i mount. The front intake rollers (white and blue) could pass the note through the gap between two 1x1s.
The reworked climber prototype with the arm worked smoothly. This is likely the direction we are going for our climb+trap mechanism.
Arm Climber with High Wheel
Our current design priorities
Robust robot: full-speed impacts will be worse than last year. As little should leave the frame perimeter as possible. Electronics should be strain relieved, vibration mounted, hot glued, etc.
Fast and stable: fast drive speed for the longest cycle distances we have had in any game, full cross-field path from source to amp. A large wheelbase is more stable during high-speed collisions. A larger wheelbase/frame allows for easier packaging of mechanisms handling the 14” wide game piece. The drawback is it may be slightly harder to climb on the same chain as 2 other robots, but we don’t think triple climbs will be that prevalent with the trap climb mechanics.
Low belly pan and high bumpers: This configuration allows you to control the contact point with the notes. With low bumpers, the curved profile of noodles may allow notes to jam under them during collisions. High bumpers also give space for the notes to compress when driven into a wall or another robot. If a note does get caught under a low belly pan, it’s smooth, and a robot should be able to drive off it as long as a wheel, or two are still touching the ground. This also prevents you from driving over notes damaging them or getting them caught in your wheels or gears.
Short: Able to drive under the stage. Driving under the stage eliminates choke points and opens up more cycle paths. A high launch height could score over short defenders but 48” tall defenders are probably still blocking nearly any shot since the shots have zero arc. At high levels of play, teams will probably be able to use climber/trap mechanisms as tall blockers, so shooting over defenders isn’t high on our priority list anymore. We are designing to be 27” tall.
Low launch height: A lower launch height gives you a larger target window into the goal for all of the distance shots in the game. We also want our launcher to get lower as the angle decreases and release higher as the launcher angle rises. (when near the subwoofer)
Ground intake: Allows for multiple note autons, picking up of missed shots, stealing from opponents' source zone, etc. Ground Intake should feed both the amp and speaker scoring paths. An under-bumper intake allows us to meet this goal while still being robust. Robots that can also directly source intake may have some advantages.
Amp and speaker scoring: Both parts of the game will be critical to alliances maximizing their score.
Continuous release angle adjustment: with no shot arc, your launcher velocity isn’t going to be able to adjust your flight path very much so you need to adjust the angle to be able to make shots from multiple positions. In 2013 there were only a few ideal protected shooting locations so being able to shoot from just 1 or 2 places was enough to be a top-tier robot. With this game having only 2 protect locations (podium and amp zone) you’ll likely need to be able to shoot from multiple locations to speed up cycles. The subwoofer shot also needs a very steep angle. Some teams will do very well to pick a single location and shoot from there every cycle or just two, such as podium and subwoofer, etc.
Consistent Feed: To get a consistent exit velocity you need a consistent feed into your launcher. This likely means the feeder mechanism should tilt/angle along with your launcher.
Vision alignment to speaker, amp, and stage: With all three of these elements not being directly in the path of drivers-robot-element like many games where you are scoring down field having vision alignment or, at the minimum, a camera for the drivers to use for aiming is going to be critical. Lining up to climb the far stage where the robot is coming straight back at the drivers will be pretty difficult.
Launch/pass notes under the stage: Launching/passing under the stage gives you more shot locations and the ability to pass notes downfield to alliance partners or stash. This means you need to be able to launch at a low angle from a low height.
Trap climb: needed to rank high. We’ve done enough tests with the wall roller climbs that getting a mechanism to the bottom of the trap door doesn’t appear that difficult. Doing it consistently should dramatically improve a team's rank. Combining the amp and trap mechanism makes a lot of sense because they both likely need to extend above 27” to score easily, reliably, and quickly. This requires something to extend above 27” and something to pull the chain so that your robot lifts, likely to your bumpers.
Things our robot won’t do in our current priorities
Buddy Climb
Turret
2 or more sided Intake
Launch from above 27in
Intentionally drive over notes
Tiny Robot: likely a 29.5” square frame perimeter
Catapult: we will use a wheeled or roller launcher
Current Leading Concept
The concept we are now primarily developing is based on a sketch from FRC#111 Wildstang (Robot Type 2 in this blog post)
It appears to meet all of our design priorities. Here are the sketches and KrayonCAD version of the robot. Neither of these includes the climber arms that will pull down on the chain.
Swerve drive with low belly pan and under bumper intake similar to yesterday’s post.
The launcher is mounted on a pivot that is fixed to the frame.
AmpTrap mechanism is mounted on an elevator that raises it to place in the amp and goes higher to climb to the trap.
The elevator holds the wall climber wheel, and arms pivot from the back to pull down on the chain to lift the robot.
Object Detection
Inspired by the post by Andrew Schreiber, we were able to produce what we believe to be the first note detector model running on a limelight (Google Drive link w/.txt file). This model was trained off the amazing data provided by Andrew Schreiber and averages around 14 fps on a Limelight 3 (compared to the 80 fps we achieved last year from Limelight’s Cone and Cube detection model). We were able to do some research and found that the Limelight currently supports efficientdet_lite0 and trained it with Google Collab (we did try using a yolov8n model only to realize that it wasn’t supported by the Limelight). If anyone is interested in training their own model for this season please feel free to use our Google Colab notebook as a guide.
Photos:
Alpha/Prototype Chassis
We begin construction on an alpha/prototype robot that will allow us to test our concepts and design path and find ways to improve it as we design and build the competition robot. The swerve modules are from an old robot, and the rev tube plus our laser cutter make manufacturing mechanisms very quick. Normally we’d want to do this on an already built chassis, but with the design requirements so different for this robot we decided that building a new chassis was the best way to be able to test and iterate quickly.
Intake Test
We were able to mount version 0 of our intake on the robot with mixed results. The note did go in the robot some of the time so that is a success, but it has a lot of work to do before we are happy with the design. In the process of building this, we had a design mishap that led us to need two 35t 5mm belts that we didn’t have, we were able to print them from Carbon Fiber TPU and run the tests with the printed belts. We also tested using hot glue to hold in our roller hubs on ⅜” rounded hex dead axles.
Video (more in the gallery)
Intake Improvements
We begin iteration on the intake to get it performing the way we need.
We changed the bar behind the intake from a 2x1 to a 1x1 which made it have to pull the note up much less and it now has a direct path into the robot where we will have a ramp to feed it up into the other mechanisms.
The biggest iteration step was changing the gap between the rollers from 1.375” to 1.75”. The original CAD had the rollers at 1.125” instead of the 1.25” OD that they are so we were compressing far too much. We laser cut a small plate to let us match drill a new hole for the top roller and the intake is working much better.
Video
Tomorrow we will have new silicone rubber on the middle of the top tube, and 3D-printed wedges/ramps on the sides near the swerve module to help direct the note into the center.
New Design Sketches
As we work through the design and prototype build we continue to optimize. We kept trying to find a better solution for mounting the launcher pivot and powering it and in the earlier designs they kept being blocked by the elevator. We had other issues with the design in the complexity of the feed system and how far we’d need to pivot our launcher to accomplish the handoff to the amp-trap mechanism.
So we went through a lot of discussion and looked at other designs and our past concepts and sketches. We decided to go back to using rollers to change the notes direction and send the note up the back of the elevator without going through the launcher first. The amp-trap motor and feeder motor will work together to choose to either send the note to the launcher or to the amp-trap at the top of the elevator.
Here is a sketch of the new concept
The launcher pivots separately from the feeder which is something we were trying to avoid but the amount of bend in the note at any of our launch angles should be minimal enough that we believe it will be able to get it consistent.
This has a few advantages over the previous plan. The launcher only tilts to its launch angles. The amp-trap mechanism and the launcher can be designed independently from each other. The feed from the intake should be consistent and quickly grabbed by the amp-trap roller. We believe we’ll be able to mount gas springs (or other counterbalance techniques) to the launcher to help balance the load and remove some backlash.
We were able to do some drive tests with our modified 2023 robot. It has approximately 0.5” of ground clearance and the bottom of the bumpers are around 2.25” off the floor.
Wall Compression Testing
Drive into the corner test
Drive off the ring test
Fully high-centered test (didn’t expect to get off this one unassisted)
CAD Updates
We are progressing quickly on the CAD for our Alpha/Prototype robot. This robot is going to function similarly to the competition plan (assuming it all works and we don’t change our minds) but is designed to be built quickly with the parts and materials we have in stock. Ideally, we will find the places that break, bend, rattle, and just don’t perform well on this design and then we can improve them before producing the production robots.
From the primary sketch we posted yesterday, and the drive train and intake CAD we did last week, we quickly mocked up the elevator, indexer, and parts of the amp-trap mechanism. The launcher will get more work but since it’s the last thing that needs to be built and has its space claimed we can begin construction without it fully designed. There are still multiple details that need to be added but the lower segments are getting close to complete.
The CAD of the current version of this robot is available here: 3847 2024 Public Onshape
We had an ice day (Houston doesn’t have salt trucks) so we took a rest and did some CAD. We did hold our virtual design recap. We are happy with the design direction as of now. The main compromise from our priorities listed a few days ago is that we aren’t tilting the feeder roller with the launcher instead it will feed around the slight angle as the launcher tilts up and down.
This game is likely going to see faster cycles than any game before it with only needing to pick up and score a single game piece, scoring from distance, and a largely open field.
CAD Updates
We have more of the CAD for alpha complete. Still a variety of details left but we believe we can complete it this weekend.
Build Update
We were able to get a bit more done on the practice robot, the elevator rails are mounted for the amp-trap mechanism and more of the plates have been cut on the router and laser cutter.
The majority of the past two build days have been spent on the assembly of our prototype robot. This weekend we should have it driving, and most of the mechanisms running.
Intake V1
We fixed some of the spacing, lifted the motor higher, switched to hearing bone gears, and remade the rollers to be full width and silicone tube only on the center 14 inches. We are still on V0 of the wedge design and are hoping to have a V1 concept this weekend or early next week. We are using hot melt glue to hold the roller hubs-pulleys into the polycarbonate tubing. Currently, we are using “Power Adhesives TEC Bond 7718 Polyamide Black” hot melt glue sticks and they seem to be holding up pretty well. The nylon hot glue bonds to the nylon-carbon fiber filament and polycarbonate tubing pretty well. For the competition versions, we are likely to run at least one screw in each hub. The hot melt glue works well because you can easily rework the parts by heating it with a heat gun.
Electrical
We were able to lay out the electronics on the belly pan and get the majority of it wired. We still have more motors but the main items are all there. The roboRIO is tucked up under the note ramp in the back.
Mechanisms
We have the Amp-Trap elevator installed, and the indexer ramp. The launcher prototype is mostly assembled and will be tested off the robot tomorrow. We still have more rollers to assemble and some design work left on the climber and amp-trap mechanisms.
Launcher Tests
Our initial tests on Saturday involved our double-top roller launcher. We then realized we could flip it upside down and we got much nicer-looking shots. We designed and cut new plates for a double-bottom roller launcher that we tested on Sunday, and by varying side wheel speeds, we got some nice-looking launches. We still have a ways to go before we are consistent, but we believe we can get a setup like this to be competitive once its velocity and angle are controlled. We have room to do a top and bottom roller and may end up eventually moving in that direction.
Launcher Stats
12x 3in REV Compliant Wheels
2 Rows of 3 wheels each on each side
14” spacing between the side walls
Top and bottom flat surfaces covered in PTFE sheet
Double stick taped to the wood
Purchased off Amazon in 2020, other vendors exist for it, McMaster also sells adhesive tape version
Compression
Powered by Falcon motors belted 36:18 for a 2x speed increase at the wheel.
Top Wheels tests were done with motors driven in follower mode, so relatively similar speeds
The good launches from the double bottom roller tests had different speeds, we were doing it with a PWM generator so we don’t know what the speed difference was, just trying to induce spin.
Double Top Roller
Double Top Roller - Inverted Test (still at the same speeds)
Double Bottom Wheels Launcher
Climber Tests
This is a more complete climber test, we still aren’t settled on how we are going to pull down the chain but we wanted to make sure it worked with the full elevator, etc. This test showed we don’t need to pull the chain to the bumpers to get our amp-trap mechanism above the bottom edge of the trap.
Climber Test Video
Weight
Our alpha robot with nearly all its components and motors weighed in at around 90 lbs. It will gain 10-15lbs when we switch everything to aluminum and polycarbonate. We likely aren’t going to run a steel belly pan this year and instead opt for 090 aluminum to keep our overall weight down. Our chassis is going to be ⅛” extrusion in most places as we had some issues with bending last year.
We were able to mostly finish the alpha assembly tonight along with getting it wired. We were able to do the basic bring-up tasks of assigning CAN IDs, updating firmware, etc. We haven’t been able to run any of the motors yet.
More test videos are on our photo gallery (Slow intake tests had a 12A current limit set)
Amp Test
We did more testing on the Amp and Trap mechanism. Here are some videos of our progress. Here are Photos and videos of these in action. There are more on our Photo Album.
balanced climb test
We made a low-fidelity version of our new climber to test the balancing. We feel confident with this design to keep moving forward with a higher-fidelity version for alpha.
Trap Test
Team 88 SLS Wheels
We recently tested SLS Printed Wheels from Team 88 on our traction jig, alongside our usual array of wheels. The goal was to see how these wheels were compared in terms of grip. We’d like to thank Team 88 and Formlabs for providing us these tires for us to test.
The data from our tests show that the SLS Printed Wheels provide superior traction. They outperformed other materials with the highest average angle and coefficient of friction (CoF) measurements. Here are our findings:
| SLS Printed Wheels | Black Nitrle | 3D Printed Spikes no Suspension | Treaded Neoprene | 3d Printed Waves (White) | Slick Neoprene | Colsons |
Test 1 | 68.5 | 56 | 47.8 | 56.5 | 48.5 | 45 | 42.5 |
Test 2 | 62.2 | 57 | 58 | 55 | 49 | 45 | 41.8 |
Test 3 | 65 | 57.2 | 60 | 57.3 | 47 | 42 | 42.8 |
Test 4 | 62.5 | 57.9 | 59 | 51 | 52 | 44.8 | 41.5 |
Test 5 | 64.8 | 57.1 | 55 | 55 | 52 | 45 | 41.2 |
avg Angle | 64.6 | 57.04 | 55.96 | 54.96 | 49.7 | 44.36 | 41.96 |
CoF | 2.106 | 1.542 | 1.480 | 1.426 | 1.179 | 0.978 | 0.899 |
While the SLS wheels lead in grip, we haven't yet assessed their durability. The next step is to test these wheels on our Alpha robot to monitor wear and tear.
Stay tuned as we continue to test and evaluate to determine the best wheel for our robotics applications.
Alpha Robot
The alpha robot CAD has a more complete climber. We will be powering the slide climb (it will have hooks for the chain) from a MaxPlanetary at the rear of the robot that we will tension with a turnbuckle to slide it down the tube it is mounted on. The turnbuckle will be made from REV 10-32 Ball Joints and a hex shaft. The top sprockets of the slide chain and elevator chain will be coaxial with the elevator top sprockets spinning on bushing on the ⅜” hex shaft that will connect the two sides.
Competition Robot CAD
We have begun CAD for the competition robot. It will look very similar to the alpha in many ways. The process of re-CAD many of the mechanisms allows us the chance to redo our CAD with more knowledge. This means that things can be better organized as we have a better idea of what mechanisms and parts will be where, so our assemblies and part studios can be easier to work on. The spacing and dimensions can be cleaner for all the parts. Some of the systems will get major upgrades.
Here is the current SuperSketch of the robot.
The largest change from AM to the competition robots (PM/FM) will be the launcher pivot. We are planning to use a sector gear mounted into the launcher and a custom gearbox to pivot the launcher through around 70 degrees of motion. We are also planning to use a constant force spring to default the launcher to the up position and remove some of the backlash in the system.
We have also begun construction of the competition robots. Swerve plates have been powder-coated and a few of the modules have been assembled. We have also cut most of the frame rails.
This is our last update before we test durability. The only change is that we were able to test the VEX Grip V2 Tires. Here is the updated Data:
Here is our “Ground Hugger” Box. Onto testing durability.
Intake Testing
Yesterday we were able to get some very basic driven intake testing done. We are very pleased with the results with just the basic printed diverters for centering.
Worn note
Video
Newer note
Video
Launcher Testing
We were able to build a new launcher prototype based on information we’ve gathered from a few other teams and the data in 95’s build blog here and here.
Here is the breakdown of the launcher
6 Shaft, 2in Wheel Launcher
2x Falcons with 36t pulleys and 18t on the rollers for 1:2 up gearing. Both motors are driving all 6 rollers. Most of the shots were done at 3.5k to 4.5k motor RPM (double for shaft RPM), Velocity is PID-controlled in these tests.
Roller shafts 2.136” C-C, 40t belt distance for 18t to 18t pulleys
Top and bottom rollers are spaced vertically 3.6” C-C to allow for 72t to 72t gear spacing.
Printed pulleys everywhere which end up causing some problems and stopping testing for the night. (we rubbed the teeth fully off two pulleys)
Wheels are mostly just what we had on hand.
Black and grey wheels are 2 in AndyMark Stealth Wheels
White wheels are 2in Fairlane Wheels 35A Nitrile with 3D printed hubs pressed in.
Orange Wheels are 1.5” Banebots wheels, we don’t think they do anything but maybe stop the note from flopping around. Gap between them and the roller below is 2.1” so they shouldn’t be doing much.
Each set of wheels is approximately 2” wide, so we are only contacting the note at it’s edges.
The plywood plate for feeding is intentionally spaced away from the first set of rollers to allow the note to more naturally flow into the compression between the wheels.
Video shooting from about 16ft away and we were aiming for the corner and side wall of the speaker on purpose, again these are the first tests with a wobbly base, so lots of room to improve but much better than what we were doing before.
One of the melted thru pulleys
Slow motion video
Captured with a Sony ZV1 at 960fps. You can see how much shaft wobble we are getting at speed. We do like that the note isn’t deforming much as we launch. This is now launching with 2x Kraken motors.
Video
New Banners?
We ordered some replacement blue banners (we managed to lose some) in December from the new banner company and they just arrived. The nylon banners are very different from the previous banners. They are only blue on one side and are very thin. The pole pocket is also much smaller. We don’t know if this is how official season banners will be or not, and we also don’t know what the Vinyl banner option looks like.
Link
We were able to do a lot of testing and iterating on our climb and amptrap mechanism today. The climb works well with some tuning left in the hook geometry. We believe we’ll be able to have a consistent climb.
Basic Climb
This will be used if we don’t want to trap in a match, or if we need to climb very quickly.
Video
Our first attempt at the trap climb.
We were able to successfully eject the note at the trap door. However, because of the interaction of the note and polycarb panel (an AndyMark purchased trap door, with correct weights, hinge, and metal cross bar), we were unable to score the note.
Video
Trap with Teflon on the Trap Door
We put Telfon on the trap door to see if lowering the friction would fix our problem. We also changed our geometry to push the note down at a steeper angle (just doing the angle did not fix the problem). The lower friction made it dramatically easier to score the note.
Video(there is a note already scored so it didn’t go down all the way)
Trap with Cape
After realizing we needed to reduce friction on the opposite side of the note, we quickly laser-cut a hinged cape and taped PTFE to it. This worked very well but we now have to fit this concept into our frame perimeter on the competition robot.
Video
I did need to assist with the climb briefly as the new cape geometry doesn’t slide up the wooden wall nicely.
Amp Scoring with Cape
We did briefly score in the amp with the cape and new geometry and works well.
Video
Conclusion
The trap is possible with the right robot but teams will need to test their mechanisms against the real polycarb door and mechanism. As the field traps wear in the friction with the note may change so it may be easier or harder to have the note slide nicely against it. Numerous other factors could come into play with the note and the trap including the note condition, how the trap doors are cleaned, and others (I wouldn’t be surprised if humidity or static build-up also affected things)
We were able to get our new prototype launcher mounted to Alpha tonight. This has similar specs to the prototype 2” wheel launcher that we posted a few days ago. The tilt control on our alpha machine (AM) is just a maxplanetary 90-degree adapter and a hex shaft, so there is a good amount of backlash and play in the system.
Subwoofer Shots
We were able to shoot into the speaker from all 3 subwoofer sides using the same speed and angle for each side.
Front Shots
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-hbXKzSm/0/17de6705/1920/IMG_9490-1920.mp4
Side Shots
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-G557Gmw/0/03012fd4/1920/IMG_9498-1920.mp4
Podium Shots
We were able to shoot consistently from around the podium.
Podium Shots
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-D64twj8/0/31104667/1920/IMG_9497-1920.mp4
Wing Shots
Still not perfectly consistent from range but working nicely for this setup.
Wing Shot Video
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-96RKZ77/0/2bc49a4d/1920/IMG_9502-1920.mp4
Amp Shots (not many but didn’t look promising)
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-4JGmz6n/0/453e574d/1920/IMG_9494-1920.mp4
Slow Motion
Here is some slow-motion video of the note exiting the launcher. One of our goals is to keep it as circular as we can.
Slow Mo Video
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-m6MFfjT/0/d6747a53/1920/Launcher%20Slow%20Mo%202-1~2-1920.mp4
Human Feed
This will need a ramp/funnel to be easier to do on the comp robot but it’s still working nicely.
Human Feed Video
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-ZC7gR45/0/1851261c/1280/PXL_20240202_030559806.TS.mp4~2-1280.mp4
We were able to install all of our Fairlane wheels on the launcher today. We use a printed hub and press them into the steel core.
We also installed a laserCAN on our indexer to be able to sense the note along the path and be able to test more consistent feeding into the launcher.
Video of the launcher running in the new configuration.
Video
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-5sdP3ST/0/ec8f80b8/1920/IMG_9531-1920.mp4
SuperSketch Update
The supersketch has nearly all the details for the main competition robot to be finished. We still need a few things like limelight mounting, handles, etc.
As we continue testing with AM we have more details in the CAD for the competition robot. The intake, feeder, and launcher tilt are the furthest along. The drive train, launcher tilt, and feeder are the motor systems we want to get right the first time as swapping them is the hardest.
The launcher tilt is planning to use a laser-cut sector gear.
Robot Testing Videos
These are some longer form testing videos, we didn’t cut down.
Subwoofer Launching and Intaking
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-S5HBbRK/0/5bbd0562/1920/PXL_20240203_210821127.TS-1920.mp4
Feeder LaserCAN routine
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-FNtrZHF/0/8347e36b/1920/PXL_20240203_195506839.TS-1920.mp4
We don’t plan for either of these next two to be our standard strategy but we would like to know if we can do it.
Amp Shooting
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-fqcGj2M/0/f664d9c7/1920/FullSizeRender-1920.mp4
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-NvcGkwb/0/d35b043f/1920/FullSizeRender-1920.mp4
Trap Shooting
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-4-2024/i-BHHLCgC/0/710b81f8/1920/FullSizeRender-1920.mp4
Full Robot Trap Climb
After some more adjustments to the climb and amp-trap scoring mechanism, we were able to get a few full trap climbs.
https://photos.smugmug.com/2024-FRC/Build-Season/Week-5-2024/i-5rVd5Rs/0/e092da03/1920/IMG_3816-1920.mp4
More testing videos in the gallery
Practice Machine Drivetrain
Our practice machine drivetrain is mostly assembled. We will be getting motors mounted in the next few days.
Photon 8515
We haven’t talked about our sibling team much this year. 8515 Photon is our development team primarily constructed by students new to our program this year, mostly 9th and 10th graders. In previous years 8515 built an Everybot but we found the students weren’t learning to design and build in the same systems we use on the 3847 robots. This year we have decided to work on a custom design that shares a similar drive train and intake to 3847 but has a different superstructure. 8515 is building a similar archetype to several open alliance teams such as 2582 and 3467. 8515 will be competing at Katy and Houston district events this season.
