Team 1261

The prongs are actually the L pieces that we find in our toolboxes and are quite sturdy. The problem with the tubes is that the way that the battery is mounted and the way that the motors are mounted makes it very hard to put the tubes in a way that they would hold the robot effectively. Unless wha...

I would still prefer to use tubes as it seems it would be less likely to catch or wobble as much that way. There is not much weight difference either way.

I think what Sunny suggested is probably the easiest effective idea. Also consider that we can change the cradle itself rather quickly if we come across any problems once the system is actually built. I'm looking forward to seeing the minibot with magnets on it. And to see it run, basically. I have ...

Here's one...I'm not sure if it would work.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... absetBasic

Sounds good to me. Did Fred use a lathe or somehow do that with magic? Looks awesome.

Sunny - We'll begin work on the deployment as soon as possible. Let's use the one bar mechanism to save weight and space. What is the attachment on the end made out of?

Also, why use two magnets? Would that not increase magnetic friction if one would be sufficient?

Sunny - can we start work on the deployment you CADed now, or should we wait until the minibot design is more final?

Since it seems that we have a minibot redesign all but CADed and we're in the process of ordering parts, why don't we have the minbot team begin work on a deployment mechanism (a slightly modified version of what we have - less power and a locking mechanism OR something completely different) and onc...

Here is an extremely rough sketch of a possible deployment mechanism. The scale is hopelessly off.

http://i.imgur.com/CzOY7.jpg

The cradle and the minibot should comfortably stay below the 18" deployment line, especially because the size restriction for the minibot is a 12" cube. A pneumatic system would probably function as well, but the fundamental idea (horizontally sliding it onto the pole) is the same, so a cr...

I agree, but I doubt the robot would fall out onto the field even if the robot did tip, if the cradle is designed the way I'm imagining. If the recess is deep enough and we cut a notch through the middle, it should be almost impossible for the minibot to fall out unless the robot completely falls ov...