Ratchet — 2013

Ratchet-ing it up!!

Ratchet is our robot for the 2013 game, Ultimate Ascent. It has a high-powered disc shooter as well as a simple pneumatic-driven hook for a quick first level climb. The robot also has a choice between loading from the first level feeder station slot or picking discs of the field.

Technical Specifications:

Weight: 114.6 lbs.
Height: 29 inches (From top of hook)

Drive Train

– Four CIM motors
– Six wheel tank drive, center wheels lowered for maneuverability
– Custom aluminum wheels with black tread

Shooter

– Powered by two Mini-CIM motors with a custom belt-box designed with a 15:16 reduction
– Variable speed flywheel
– Two position shooter (Pneumatic Driven); Load and Shoot
– Pneumatic loading system

Loading System

– The over-the-bumper disc collecting system deploys at the beginning of the match
– The over-the-bumper system has a Mini-CIM attached to a Versa-Planetary Gearbox and drives four 1.75 inch wheels, funneling in discs
– Discs lift of the ground by means of a Vex motor, attached to a custom gearbox, driving a bar coated with self-vulcanizing tape, simply lifting the side of a disc up
– Another Mini-CIM/Versa-Planetary Gearbox duo, attached to chain with custom hooks, drives discs up our conveyor, pushing them into our magazine

– Alternatively, the robot can be feeder station loaded from the lowest slot by just backing up into it

Climbing

– Simple first level climb by the deployment of a hook attached to a pneumatic. The pneumatic's air is routed closed and has surgical tubing around the whole system, so the Ratchet can simply back up into the rung and even climb AFTER the end of a match
– Power Take Off system in place on each drive gearbox, for future plans of second and third level climb

Electrical/Pneumatics

– Encoders on shooter wheel to make sure shooter is up to speed

– Three on-board accumulators and one air compressor

Programming

– The robot is driven by a steering wheel and a throttle stick
– An camera is located in the front of the robot to assist with aiming and to use align with the goals in Autonomous
– Autonomous mode shoots three pre-loaded frisbees into the three point goal. If the robot starts from the back center of the pyramid, it will go forward, pick up at least two more discs, and shoot them into the three point goal. If starting from one of the back sides of the pyramid, it will go backward and turn into the middle line of discs.