the drawbridge protoype has been given to CAD people
Work Completed
started prototyping drawbridge deployment mechanism
how it works:
c-bracket attached to piston (mounted somewhere in the robot) contracts and the c bracket pushes the ramp out of the robot and the ramp falls some distance until the slack in the rope runs out, then the ramp is lowered the rest of the way by motors unwiding the spool(s) of rope
c-bracket elimantes need for two pistons-1 that would push ramp out and 1 that would keep it in place, the c bracket does both, "the c bracket is like a pirate hook"
c- brakcet needs pivot point somewhere on robot, possible on top of T support structure
when other robots need to drive onto ramp, the motors let the rope slack to the floor so that it does not interfere with other team's robots
then piston connected on underside of ramp is actuated and the ramp lifts the robot up 12 inches
spools of rope located on both or just one side of internal T structure or TT support structure
mounted 80-20 TT structure to table to act as support structure within the robot, mounted wooden stick at a 45 degree angle to table so give it more support
Challenges
not sure where to mount piston
one spool or two spools??
Work for Next Meeting
finish building drawbridge prototype
figure out if we want two spools, or just one
attach spool(s)
mount c bracket piston contraption to ramp and support structure
time the deployment duration
figure out what angle the ramp leans into the robot