- #1
sroberti
- 6
- 4
Thread moved from the technical forums to the schoolwork forums
Good evening, all!
Some quick background: I am working on a robot for a competition that strictly limits entry weights to 3lb. Robot speed & acceleration are highly desirable in this competition, so I have been focusing on ways to maximize my entry's performance. Drive motors for these weight ranges are extremely power-dense, so my current iteration can apply far more power to its wheels than it can practically use (this is typical for entries in this weight class). The limit to static friction (i.e. the maximum force that can be applied to the ground by the wheels) is determined by the coefficient of friction (which I can improve by using the best-quality wheels available) and the normal force (which, because all entries are limited to 3lb, is hard but not impossible to improve).
I've been investigating the possibility of using a blower fan/pump of some sort to create a downward suction force, increasing the normal force on my robot's wheels and thus increasing the portion of my drive power that can be used. However, the exact characteristics of the system are somewhat beyond me at the moment, and I don't have any formal education in this field to help me sanity check my ideas.
Broadly-speaking, I see two main approaches:
Anyway, that's my current mental dilemma. Am I remotely on the right track here? Looking forward to any insights y'all might be willing to share.
Thanks in advance.
Some quick background: I am working on a robot for a competition that strictly limits entry weights to 3lb. Robot speed & acceleration are highly desirable in this competition, so I have been focusing on ways to maximize my entry's performance. Drive motors for these weight ranges are extremely power-dense, so my current iteration can apply far more power to its wheels than it can practically use (this is typical for entries in this weight class). The limit to static friction (i.e. the maximum force that can be applied to the ground by the wheels) is determined by the coefficient of friction (which I can improve by using the best-quality wheels available) and the normal force (which, because all entries are limited to 3lb, is hard but not impossible to improve).
I've been investigating the possibility of using a blower fan/pump of some sort to create a downward suction force, increasing the normal force on my robot's wheels and thus increasing the portion of my drive power that can be used. However, the exact characteristics of the system are somewhat beyond me at the moment, and I don't have any formal education in this field to help me sanity check my ideas.
Broadly-speaking, I see two main approaches:
- Use a high static-pressure fan to reduce the air pressure below the robot's bottom plate by as much as possible.
- Use a high-volume/velocity fan, coupled with an appropriately-shaped robot bottom surface, to induce a Venturi effect underneath the robot.
Anyway, that's my current mental dilemma. Am I remotely on the right track here? Looking forward to any insights y'all might be willing to share.
Thanks in advance.