Inner-Gripping Wonder

Tonight, the minibot and deployment groups had an informal design review with Coach. We’ve figured out what we want to do and how to do it. Tomorrow we should be able to get most of the deployment done. If we can waterjet the minibot components soon, that will take a short amount of time to prepare. I don’t know if I mentioned it yet but we’re building 3 identical clones.

The Inner-Gripper was mounted, then tested for the FIRST time today. It works well, but requires some new code (the pre-set lift heights are different for this one). I must say, from what little I did see, I was impressed. I may have been the advocate for the raptor claw, but we ought to pick whichever works best. After a little drive time, we’ll come to see that this end-effector is a little more forgiving for alignment.

I think we’ve got a pretty exciting robot. The lift is almost identical to 16′s and the end-effector concept is strikingly similar. I have no problem likening to this robot as they are the only undefeated team so far, and with the Alamo Regional win under their belt.

If mechanical design is any indicator of robot performance, I think our systems have put us in a good position.

I’m excited for more driver practice and team prep for Seattle which is just around the bend. We have a lot of things to plan and exciting things to finish!

10 days left, let’s make good use of it!

Scouting Ahead

Tonight I don’t have much to share with you about progress. If I did so, my pictures would be very similar to last night and my articles would be rather drab. So instead, I am going to focus on a few different design features and showcase several current projects.

This one goes out to you Kyle, if you are reading. Here is this year’s current scouting sheet prepared by Danny. Feedback is always appreciated and I’m sure Kyle will have a word or two

For those of you who don’t know, this sheet is mass produced. We then have scouts from our team in the stands at competition watching every robot in every single match. Those scouts are then responsible for keeping track of robot capabilities and performance, in order for us to rank our opposition. This is highly useful when it comes to the elimination matches, as we may be picking teams to join our alliance!

Tonight the Inner Gripper model was finalized (again). Welcome to the design process… With these designs completed for our end effectors, the crew in the shop cut the aluminum box-tubing which will become the frames for these sub-assemblies. It certainly appears as if we can get started putting them together this weekend!

Here is another key element on the robot which I haven’t focused on much in my articles, the lift. Here is a render of the Double Chain Reduction Lift Drive Assembly. (A mouthful, eh?)

The lift itself is made up of 3 separate stages which extend out like a ladder, allowing us to reach the top peg’s height of 122″ off the ground (over 10 FEET!). In the render above, you might notice a rather large disk with intricate paisley looking cut-outs. That disk is our brake. If you notice on the left side of the brake, that funny shaped part hugging it is a Disc Brake Caliper. These two parts interact, just as your car does. The pneumatically operated caliper squeezes the disc, which is spinning, in order to slow the lift down to a stop. With the capability to lift in 2 seconds and the possible need to stay elevated for periods of time, this will be a nice feature.

So, I lied. I didn’t get you the picture of how this year’s shirt is going to look. It’s probably best I didn’t, because it’s had some major changes done to it. Let’s just say the skunk has all the game pieces around him and it’s certainly colorful. I’ll be happy to unveil the concept to you tomorrow night! (If the P.R. team will let me disclose it.)

One last thing, I’ve heard many people asking about specific dates for upcoming events. I’m not positive about this year’s Unveiling/Ship Party date. However, it sounds like it will probably be on the 21st. Stay tuned, I’ll keep you posted. Here’s what I do know:

Seattle Regionals (we’re on the Cascade Field at Qwest Field Event Center): March 17th-19th

Autodesk Oregon Regional (Portland Memorial Coliseum): March 24th-26th

World Championships (St. Louis): April 27th-30th

When the time comes, I will make sure that I post links to where you can watch the competitions live from home. Week 4 is upon us, GULP!