foot designs?

just asking if anyones got a design for a foot

Foot? ...

something we worked on today to shoot the ball idk how the programming would work though nor wa design to use nor if its a good idea accuracy may be an issue

I recommend a concave disc of a hard, yet flexible material. Plexiglass perhaps? I suppose we could use aluminum or some other metal in a pinch, though.

on the old robot I have a design we could mimic using either a rotary or linear actuator.... the piston that charles grroup used or we will look at what we have and use that...

would a foot be accurate enough?

I am not sure.... due to the driving ability and not being able tosee in a 2 minute period you may want to have more surface area and a broader area to hit like a shovel

thats what i thought ok^^

more surface area=better chance of hitting the ball well

Mr powell told me and jake a way to increase the amount of force in each piston so we are going to check to see if that works tomarrow and move on from there

Sounds like a plan...

Get some of the guys in your group to design differnt foot designs...

Question: Is there enough force in pneumatics to shoot the ball across the field?
Answer: Yes

Question: Is there a material we can mount to the piston that won't detract from that force?
Answer: ?????

The problem here is that though a flipper system sounds great for shooting the ball, what material are we going to use that won't absorb some of the force for itself? Obviously, some force will be lost. The laws of physics make that clear. But there must be some material that will give the greatest possible transfer of force, right?

Someone brought up using Lexan, but Lexan isn't hard enough. It does have a bit of give in it. "Give" meaning, it will absorb some of the energy and not transfer it all to hitting the ball, thereby causing the ball to travel less distance than desired. On the other hand, if we could get it to work, Lexan is sturdy enough and would be unlikely to break under the circumstances. [I think; we would be best testing that, but I'm going on how the Lexan did last year--not being dented or cracked]

I've heard people talk about using wood, but the grain in wood makes it like rope--very likely to absorb a lot of force and not transfer it. It is hard, though, and therein lies the basis of its appeal. In order to get the best use out of it, you'd have to cut it thin, though and that would make it less sturdy and more prone to breaking.

If there were metal stock we could use, a plate perhaps. Aluminum, even when thinly cut, would be durable enough to rely on not to break, but would not be too thick so as to absorb the force of the blow. The only problem being that I'm not sure we possess such a material...

Ideas?