Robot Ptouneigh and the Tranistion Process to Phouneigh

Phouneigh Haaulke

This season, we welcomed our newest robot Ptouneigh Haaulke (Tony-Hawk), as a culmination of the team’s hard work and perseverance to play all aspects of this season’s game. After our first meet, we decided that our robot needed a TRANSFORMATION and a new name... meet Phouneigh!

Design Process

CAD/Model

Matador CAD Modeling

The 2024 - 2025 Season was the Season of CAD for the Matador Mechanics. We learned to use Onshape to CAD Robot Subsystems such as the chassis, the arm pivot, and the claw system, etc. With lots of our parts being 3D-printed, laser cut, and routed, CAD allowed us to iterate quickly and track our iterations.

Building CAD skills also helped us overcome one of the most common failures of FTC engineering challenges--the integration of systems that must fit into the 18 in by 18 in by 18 in cube. Using precise math in CAD allowed us to meet constraint challenges, and printing drawings from Onshape allowed for ease of assembly and to reference how it should be.

Start to Finish - Claw System

Initial Model and Idea

Using the geometry of the SAMPLE pieces in CAD, we created an initial design for a claw that would be actuated by a servo with a simple gear system.

Prototyping Begins

We printed the claw design in resin as a prototype to see what changes we could make. We progressed through a variety of iterations during this process: filleting edges, resizing shaft tolerances, and material changes.

Putting It All Together

IMG_2042.mov

Testing

We rigged up a temporary gear system and a servo to see the characteristics of the claw.

The grip passed the threshold test of being strong enough to hang a specimen without breaking and sleek enough to allow the SPECIMEN to release without opening the gripper once the SPECIMEN snapped onto the HIGH CHAMBER. Still, the gripper did not always release as smoothly as we wanted it to.

Development

After testing, we designed a resin-printed bracket that would allow us to mount the claws, gear system, and servo to an extension arm.

We noticed that the claws looked a bit bulky. We noticed that if we rounded the top vertex of the claw, the SPECIMEN would release itself from the claw automatically after snapping onto the HIGH CHAMBER. The final design further proved efficient for collecting SAMPLES in various positions from the floor or SUBMERSIBLE..

Sketches/Design

Final Version

Version 1 vs. Version 2

Version 1: Ptouneigh

The first version of our robot Ptouneigh Haaulke featured many prototypes of tools to complete this year's challenges. Including a 4-stage pulley system and a measuring tape arm extension.

Version 2: Phouneigh

In our second version, we decided to test some new ideas. Combining all our tools onto the arm, we used sliders to raise the claw. Utilizing a motor to lift all the components up.

The THINGAVERSE of designs that were scraped

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