A. Arm - Rollers at the end to collect balls when the arm is angled down, and to shoot them when the arm is angled up.
B. Conveyor belt - A conveyor belt located at the bottom of the robot, which feeds the balls up to a shooter that rotates left and right.
For both designs, we made detailed drawings, calculations, and prototypes. The arm seemed like a better design, because it could change its height, and could never collect more than 3 balls(which would be a penalty in the game - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13HpbFjZWto). However, it was quite heavy, and would be quite difficult to move up and down. Also it could lead to a lot of tipping, and could make crossing the bumps in the middle significantly harder.
After we thoroughly analyzed both designs, our club came to the consensus that the conveyor belt design would be better. Even though my arm design was ruled out, it still feels good to know that our club decided together, and with everyone informed. I am positive that both designs were adequately modeled and explained to the group, and that the decision we made was a good one.
This was a rather crude sketch, but it helped get the lift points across. How did this sketch help with communication?
ReplyDeleteThink about the two styles of sketch above. We do a ton of communication on the white board. The pencil sketch below took a lot more time. Where and why should you use each style?
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