New Superman Arm

By Ethan and Evan

Task: Redesign the Superman arm to be more robust for Worlds

In posts E-116, we found that we were putting pressure on the individual teeth of the Superman gears on the order of mPa. We designed gearkeepers to ensure that the gears would interlock and reduce pressure, and these worked for awhile. However, under tournament pressures at UIL, the teeth on the smaller gears broke entirely - between the teeth that composed the gearing-up portion, at the beginning we had 45. At the end, we had 15 teeth.

This necessitated a total redesign. Upon coming back from UIL, we created a new version of Superman with metal Tetrix gears with a 3:1 ratio - the aluminum Tetrix uses has proven much tougher in the past. To compensate for the reduction in gear ratio, we removed the old Core Hex Motors and replaced them an NeverRest+BaneBots 104:1 motor+gearbox combination. Coming off the bat, the NeverRest outputs .17 N*m, and with the gearbox, it outputs .17*104=17.68 N*m. With the 3:1 gear ratio, it outputs 53 N*m, matching the previous Superman arm while increasing tooth durability.

This new Superman arm will allow us to rotate the entire body of our robot around the axis of its wheels, allowing us to reach the lander without difficulty and ensure redundancy on the robot. The Superman arm is the centerpiece of our robot; it allows us to utilize Balancing, Center of Gravity Calculations, and Articulations in a truly innovative way.

Next Steps

We need to test the arm to make sure no additional stripping occurs.