Ramp Creation

[MoMoney$$$;)0)]

I was having trouble designing my ramp and I was wondering what types of methods you used on the production in you ramp, and I noticed that trying to make a very steep curve the wood would easily snap. So what would be the beneficial method for allowing you ramp material to bend, in this case, much more brittle material such as plywood? (And with the production through a CNC Machine is preferred)

Also, is there a benefit to having a steeper ramp with a curve to the floor right around 10 cm height, vs having a less steep ramp with slower exit velocity but definitely more accuracy, In short, are there any reasons to not make your ramp as steep as possible.

Thanks and any help is appreciated!

[CPScienceDude]

I was having trouble designing my ramp and I was wondering what types of methods you used on the production in you ramp, and I noticed that trying to make a very steep curve the wood would easily snap. So what would be the beneficial method for allowing you ramp material to bend, in this case, much more brittle material such as plywood? (And with the production through a CNC Machine is preferred)

Also, is there a benefit to having a steeper ramp with a curve to the floor right around 10 cm height, vs having a less steep ramp with slower exit velocity but definitely more accuracy, In short, are there any reasons to not make your ramp as steep as possible.

Thanks and any help is appreciated!

So what I'm doing is making a wood frame and screwing sheet metal to the frame. The wood itself wont bend, just the sheet metal. As for the ramp, you might want to have the curve start a little higher. The stress on the vehicle if the curve is that tight would be tremendous. In addition to stress, the more violent transition may cause you to loose velocity. As for steepness, I have mine at about an 80* angle to the floor. This is to ensure the vehicle is in contact with the ramp at all times. Because with a vertical ramp you may run the risk of the vehicle's wheels disconnecting from the ramp. Take this advice with grain of salt, as this is my first time on a vehicle event, but I hope it helps.

[sciolyperson1]

I was having trouble designing my ramp and I was wondering what types of methods you used on the production in you ramp, and I noticed that trying to make a very steep curve the wood would easily snap. So what would be the beneficial method for allowing you ramp material to bend, in this case, much more brittle material such as plywood? (And with the production through a CNC Machine is preferred)

Also, is there a benefit to having a steeper ramp with a curve to the floor right around 10 cm height, vs having a less steep ramp with slower exit velocity but definitely more accuracy, In short, are there any reasons to not make your ramp as steep as possible.

Thanks and any help is appreciated!

So what I'm doing is making a wood frame and screwing sheet metal to the frame. The wood itself wont bend, just the sheet metal. As for the ramp, you might want to have the curve start a little higher. The stress on the vehicle if the curve is that tight would be tremendous. In addition to stress, the more violent transition may cause you to loose velocity. As for steepness, I have mine at about an 80* angle to the floor. This is to ensure the vehicle is in contact with the ramp at all times. Because with a vertical ramp you may run the risk of the vehicle's wheels disconnecting from the ramp. Take this advice with grain of salt, as this is my first time on a vehicle event, but I hope it helps.

I don't think there would be as much stress on the vehicle as you described, even with a 2kg vehicle, as long as the curve is decently smooth and without bumps then it should be fine.

[MTV<=>Operator]

I was having trouble designing my ramp and I was wondering what types of methods you used on the production in you ramp, and I noticed that trying to make a very steep curve the wood would easily snap. So what would be the beneficial method for allowing you ramp material to bend, in this case, much more brittle material such as plywood? (And with the production through a CNC Machine is preferred)

Also, is there a benefit to having a steeper ramp with a curve to the floor right around 10 cm height, vs having a less steep ramp with slower exit velocity but definitely more accuracy, In short, are there any reasons to not make your ramp as steep as possible.

Thanks and any help is appreciated!

If the ramp height is kept constant with different curves, shouldn't the exit velocity remain constant as well? Right now, I designed a ramp at a 75 degree angle with the ground and a curve with a radius of 35 cm. I haven't built it yet so I don't know if this is ideal or not.

[Tendan]

I was having trouble designing my ramp and I was wondering what types of methods you used on the production in you ramp, and I noticed that trying to make a very steep curve the wood would easily snap. So what would be the beneficial method for allowing you ramp material to bend, in this case, much more brittle material such as plywood? (And with the production through a CNC Machine is preferred)

Also, is there a benefit to having a steeper ramp with a curve to the floor right around 10 cm height, vs having a less steep ramp with slower exit velocity but definitely more accuracy, In short, are there any reasons to not make your ramp as steep as possible.

Thanks and any help is appreciated!

If the ramp height is kept constant with different curves, shouldn't the exit velocity remain constant as well? Right now, I designed a ramp at a 75 degree angle with the ground and a curve with a radius of 35 cm. I haven't built it yet so I don't know if this is ideal or not.

So long as there is a smooth transition to the floor, I wouldn't think speed should change very much.

[Soumil]

In regards to the dimensions of the ramp, how specific do you think the event supervisors will be?

[Tendan]

In regards to the dimensions of the ramp, how specific do you think the event supervisors will be?

If you mean how lenient they will be with the dimension restrictions, it depends on the supervisor and level of competition, you rarely know beforehand how strictly you will be judged. In general, I would be half a centimeter below the limit at the least (in all directions), because it is far better to just avoid the chance of a dispute altogether at the cost of a fraction of a point than possibly having to deal with a rule dispute or an appeal.

[CPScienceDude]

In regards to the dimensions of the ramp, how specific do you think the event supervisors will be?

If you mean how lenient they will be with the dimension restrictions, it depends on the supervisor and level of competition, you rarely know beforehand how strictly you will be judged. In general, I would be half a centimeter below the limit at the least (in all directions), because it is far better to just avoid the chance of a dispute altogether at the cost of a fraction of a point than possibly having to deal with a rule dispute or an appeal.

Your sig tho..... my friends are mad now lol

[Tendan]

In regards to the dimensions of the ramp, how specific do you think the event supervisors will be?

If you mean how lenient they will be with the dimension restrictions, it depends on the supervisor and level of competition, you rarely know beforehand how strictly you will be judged. In general, I would be half a centimeter below the limit at the least (in all directions), because it is far better to just avoid the chance of a dispute altogether at the cost of a fraction of a point than possibly having to deal with a rule dispute or an appeal.

Your sig tho..... my friends are mad now lol

I'm also mad now, you made me make myself lose.

[xiangyu]

Hi everyone,

I am using plywood support with a metal sheet for my ramp. However, I've noticed that the plywood tends to warp as time goes by which is affecting our vehicle consistency as we test over time. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prevent the wood from warping further? My coach said she saw something online about how painting the plywood would prevent it from warping further. Does anyone have experience with this? Would it work?