High Powered Feather Flippers

[stu]

OK...

Since the likes of DTK, Flip and RIP - there is a new generation of Feather Weight Flippers on their way. Some Full Pressure flippers (even some with FP Buffer Tanks!). There is also the other kind - Low Pressure flippers but with good flow rates good enough to lift heavy weights.

When (and it is soon, if not already!) these flippers are let lose in Open Top arenas, the results could be quite nasty.

Heavy Weight Flippers in a feather weight, 12kg feather weights will fly. Also - this tethering thingy which is going on in heavy weights, would this need to apply for Feather Weigths? Full Pressure flipper, with a 1kg steel flipper, goes flying in the air - results not going to be nice.

Just something to nattery about - anyone else got any views?

Stu

[spinnerboy]

i got a view.

All rpbotic combat be it small avent or big should be run in a an enclosed arena

[robotwars]

I braught this problem up at the last FRA meeting, and i think it was decided that as with the feather weight spinners, they would be monitored, and upon a robot causing a risk, then the rules would be ammended to suit.


My personal opinion, is that the same rules should apply, and have considered putting a teather on Rip as i wouldnt like to be smacked in the face by its Titanium scoop if it broke off.

[blazerbotics]

im currently building one of these new generation flippers. It will easily flip a heavy. As the flipper will be large i wondered about teathers. Its not the sort of thing you want to see fly across the arena!

[big_nipper]

Another, we are building a big flipper featherweight (low pressure) and we tested just the flipper at the weekend. First test was at 20 psi with nothing connected to the arm. With the ram not connected to the arm it flew over 180 degrees and hit the bench. We then fitted a bungee teather (needed anyway), We put a 5kg weight on the arm and put 20psi in it again and it went about 1 foot higher than the arm. After playing with the piviot point position we went upto 100 psi in small steps and got it to hit the roof, about 8 feet. The difference between 50 and 100 psi was not all that great (probably due to flow rate limitations) but found that adjusting the position of the pivot for less power but more speed was better up to a point. The whole thing was clamped to the bench but I would not like to test anymore until a drive system is sorted and we can test in the arena.

By the sounds of it this will not be anywhere near the power of some of the others but put a small piece of shrapnel on the arm weighting only a few hundard gramms and it will go very far. If theres not a top on the arena then even a few hundard grams will do serious harm landing on someones head. The problem is how will organisers ensure that arenas without tops will be safe without testing all filppers, disc etc.. to test their effectiveness. They will have to put alot of trust in the roboteers and limit the type of robots that can compete. RR arena has a top suffient for feathers with all weapon types that exsist at the moment and as most events use this arena then there is not a problem yet.

[jamesb]

Tested whiplash mockup self righting on 300psi, it hit my living room roof.

Grew some common sense and tested it outside at 300psi with the buffertank this time, it must have been 15 feet in the air.

The full pressure components are close to finished. Is this the kind of thing that need very careful monitering and teathers?

No,

there is no way on earth Id be happy fighting this anywhere but robotwars (maybe enginuity), and I think if so many people are going to build super flipper feathers they need to realise there is a very real chance you wont be allowed on the live scene, just like the super spinners.

[stu]

James im sure you can run that at Roaming Robots. We had M2 flipping that Steel Ball (over 10kg easy!) fireing straight up into the roof and with no sign of it looking unsafe.

Stu

[babeth]

Did they recover that steel ball ? Just curious.

[robotwars]

James, bring it along and we can have a look, the arena is fully enclosed and stu is correct we have had M2 and Ripper flipping it against the walls and roof.

SO a 12kg feather hitting the roof would be nothing more than spectacular.

If we had concerns about things escaping then the arena would have been upgraded.

JOnno
http://www.roamingrobots.co.ukwww.roamingrobots.co.uk

[stu]

LOL! Yes Babeth - it bounced back down to the arena floow with a big bang. The arena roof was acting like a sling shoot. LOL Flip - fly - aaa- smash back down to earth. Paul also flipped it full pelt forwards straight into the arena side polycarbonate wall at an incrediable speed - with us standing just 40cm away from the wall - felt more than safe enough.

Stu