Cradles

hi all

on reading the rules and other documents about the uk champs the word cradle caught my eye. i realise that alot of the stuff may not appaly to a fether weight, but could someone explain what one is? do i need one? and how sould it be made (materials)?

thanks alex

You will need one for your feather. I made one in 5 minutes out of 3 pieces of wood screwed together. It is required while the robot is on the bench to keep the wheels in the air and is sturdy enough to keep the robot steady while the motors are running such as during tech checking or bench testing. 1 inch by half inch pieces in an H configuration did the trick for Small Torque. Pillow Torques is I shaped.

A cradle isnt much more than a frame, made from any material , that makes sure the robots wheels cannot touch the surface of anything, so, if the drive is accidentialy activated, the robot wont destroy the pits. Of course ,the cradles need to be sturdy and put the robot stabile.

And a cradle is mandated for every weightclass.

Now, our featherweight cradles are just screwed together 4 by 4s.

Ok, but what if the wheels are on the ground, but not on the robot?

ha ha jeroen.... maybe you should make a cradle for them too :)

john

Alex, what have you been doing for your last few events? You shouldnt have passed a tech check without one, and certainly not been able to continue the event without one (or many events)

well i havnt being using a cradle as such just something to keep it oof the table. but i have made one for B.O.W but never used it

A cradle is basically something that keeps the robot off the table as you say. It doesnt have to be fancy as long as it is sturdy as mentioned above.

Little Hitter and Flipper basically have an X shaped bit of wood with some angle iron screwed to it to prevent the robot falling off the cradle. Big nipper simply uses its box lid turned upside down with just a couple of strips of wood keeping the wheels in free air. It is there for safety and to be able to test your drive during a tech check without the risk of it driving off.

I have always thought feathers didnt need a cradle.But oh well,one can be built in five minutes anyway.

Loads of roboteers with feathers including me just used a carrier case or some other thing you can set the robot on top of safely. This year that has been ruled as not being a real cradle so now ive got 4 pieces of wood doing the exact same thing. :)

a roll of duct-tape does the trick for BonX :P

Yes Tim, but the tech checker or pits marshal can argue it isnt stable enough. I know I would, and would certainly have brought this issue up for the Dutch event where I was -still am, the event is postponed- to be in charge of safety.
That featherweight is still 12 kilos aimed at your feet and shins, not to mention what it could do when it slides off the roll and lands on your fingers. Better to have a proper cradle, in which you can transport that thing safely too, than a roll of duct-tape or similar random objects. At one point youll find yourself in need of that duct-tape and then what ?

Dedicated cradle guys, makes my heart go all soft and warm-like.:proud: