Day 12: From Deep

We upgraded the shooter prototype even more today by making our Tri-wheeled shooter use multiple wheels so they act like rollers instead of wheels. We still don't have multiple balls yet (shipping issues) so we can't comment on consistency across balls yet. We know we have a variety of things to change before it ever gets consistent.

Not bad. 21ft 10in shot, released at 19in, 30 degrees. Still making a lot more changes. #omgrobots @FRCTeams pic.twitter.com/TOGvrDyrbu

— Spectrum3847 (@Spectrum3847) January 21, 2016

This shot is 21ft 10in, from a 19in launch height and 30 degree launch angle and this ball is used but still in a condition that would not get replaced on the field (no major holes or anything like that). Both the back and front wheels compress the ball to roughly 7in with the top wheel.

Details on this configuration:

• Tri Wheel configuration - top and back wheel speed up the ball before moving on to the top and front wheel for the final release. 
• Top wheel is smaller and spinning much slower than the bottom wheels to provide back spin on the ball. 4x 2.5in colsons powered by a BAG motor into a 3:1 versaplanetary.
• Back Wheel - 4x 3.5" Colson wheels powered by a 775 pro into a 3:1 versaplanetary
• Front Wheel - 4x 4" AndyMark 70A stealth wheels powered by a 775pro into a 3:1 versaplanetary with a 12:15 speed increase in the chain.
• Mounted to a 2x4 that we clamp in an adjustable vise to set the angle of the shooter.

For this current test we are running all three motors at full battery voltage. We will not be doing this on the real robot we just haven't moved over to testing using a robot and speed control yet.

Improvements we plan to make to this include changing all the wheels/drums to something that provides more grip on the ball. Making the back wheel a smaller diameter and moving it further from the front wheel to allow it more time to speed up the ball before entering the front wheel. We will also be reducing compression after we change to a wheel with more grip in hopes that provides a more consistent shot.

- Spectrum

"All progress is experimental." - John Jay Chapman