The robot will have two REV linear lifts using their linear kit. This is a very popular linear lift for FTC teams because it is very light, sturdy, and doesn’t take up a lot of room. One Andymark 60 motor will be used to raise and lower the linear lift, and the string will be wired separately so that the linear lift can go up much faster, because it requires much more torque.
At first, the chassis was back wheel driven, so the wheels with a good grip on the ground were on the back and they were driven by motors, while the front wheels were Omni wheels. Also, the front of the robot, which has the linear lift and electronics, is a lot heavier than the back which only has a sweeper system which is mostly empty. Because of this, the back wheels often skidded and the robot had slow and uncontrolled turns, because there wasn’t enough weight on the back of the robot.
So the front wheels and the back wheels were changed, so that the robot will be front driven, and so that the front wheels will have a lot of weight on them so that they can have good traction with the ground, resulting in faster navigation.
The sweeper system will be similar to the previous one, except we will be using thicker noodles with no zip ties inside. The old sweepers often broke, and this took up a lot of time, so the new ones will just be one noodle stuck through a hole on a PVC. Also, the new sweeper will be geared 3 to 1 instead of 1 to 1 so that it can sweep in particles much faster.
The beacon pressing mechanism’s range has increased because the length of the rotating beam has increased. Additionally, it is mounted much more securely on the robot’s frame, doesn’t tilt, and is easily accessible by users.
The shooter is the last mechanism to be done on this robot. After the NTX Regionals, a new shooter with dual springs was created to prevent the spring from rotating, however it was too difficult to balance the power of the shooter and the consistency, so we will return to a single spring. The new shooter will hopefully have the same consistency as in the qualifier we broke the world record. Also, the shooter will shoot from the front, because it is easier to aim this way since it requires less adjusting. However, this means less room.
One final improvement of the robot is the transfer of particles from the sweeper to the shooter. Before, one particle would sit in the shooter while another would be touching the first particle on the ramp. This contact results in the first particle shooting further, so in the new robot there will be a mechanism that will prevent contact with the particle in the shooter. This will be achieved using a servo that blocks particles in the sweeper from entering in the shooter, and we can use an ultrasonic sensor to detect when there is a particle sitting in the sweeper.
This is our gearing for the next possible shooter. We are planning to use the wheels that technical difficulties used.