Week 1: Build Journal

After attending kickoff and becoming more familiar with this year’s game, Aerial Assist, we returned to our school for some preliminary strategy and game analysis.  Determining that we would need to construct a robust robot capable of picking the ball off the floor, rotating it up toward the target, and shooting from a decent distance away from the goal, we began sketching ideas. Gathering many possible designs, the team began to CAD their ideas so that they could be translated into prototypes.  

We started prototyping by breaking into two groups: shooter and intake. For the shooter, we tested a spring-loaded linear punch mechanism. The first design that we tested involved compressing springs within an aluminum tube. Unfortunately, the springs wanted to be in their longest state and ended up bowing within the tube.

 Additionally, we prototyped several variations of claw mechanisms for our intake. We started with a three prong mechanism—two prongs on the bottom and one of the top with a roller. In parallel, we built an intake that grabbed the ball from the sides and had two rollers to control the ball. After creating these prototypes, we decided that we needed a floor intake that would be able to change angles to shoot and a shooter that could vary its power.

We decided on an eight-wheel drivetrain which would be an updated version of a drivetrain that we had developed over the summer. The drivetrain included eight four-inch traction wheels with the center wheels dropped which would allow for easier mobility. The wheels will be run by timing belts which will be fully inclosed within the rail. For gearboxes, we plan on using VexPro Ball Shifters.