2017

Upstream

Drive Train: 6 wheel WCD style drivetrain powered by 4 CIM Motors with bicycle chain-in-tube. VEXpro 2-speed ball shifting gearboxes with custom 3rd stage. High gear (17 ft/s) allows us to traverse the field quickly when cycling gears, and low gear (7 ft/s) allows us to push other robots.

Ball Collector: Fold out ball collection system increases ball capacity. Deployed by 2 12” pneumatic cylinders. Full-width roller intake using latex tubing powered by a CIM motor with a 17:30 reduction. This arrangements helps maximize area for collecting balls. The wide design also allows us to trigger the hopper and get every ball.

Hopper: Circular hopper design. Balls are moved around the hopper with flexible shelf paper and BRECOflex tank tread driven by a CIM motor. Balls exit the hopper tangentially into our shooter system at approximately 5-6 balls per second. Flexible materials allow balls to fall into the hopper while running.

Shooter System: 2 parallel HTD timing belts driven by an 775pro through a VersaPlanetary gearbox move the balls from the hopper exit to the flywheel shooter. A flywheel shooter powered by 2 775pros in a custom gearbox grant a large shooting range. A two-position hood allows for a flat shot and a higher shot. Flywheel design is mounted on a turret for improved shooting position flexibility. The turret is powered by a BAG motor with a VersaPlanetary gearbox meshing with a custom laser cut 260 tooth gear. We used automated vision tracking to find the goal and determine our distance away to determine what speed we should shoot. We use a dedicated processor for vision processing.

Gear Mechanism: Our gear-handling mechanism is simple, yet effective. We have a full width roller covered in latex tubing. Once the gear triggers an optical sensor, the mechanism is automatically retracted, which makes it easy for the drivers to collect gears.

Climber: Our climber is composed of a set of teeth driven by a 775pro with a VersaPlanetary gearbox. A Kevlar rope has a knot which the teeth catch onto, enabling the robot to then climb the rope in approximately 3 seconds.