Adjusting steering

[Unome]

so, most likely, you will have to compromise to a vernier or a dial caliper, instead of a digital one like those used in division C. This leaves more opportunity for human error while setting up the buggy, especially under the stress of competition.

Why do you think a dial caliper isnt as effective as a digital one? They have nearly the same precision and accuracy for the most part. The SAE team at my school mainly use dial calipers and from what I understand, they were pretty common in industry before the digital caliper. I disagree with the idea that a dial caliper cant be just as effective as a digital one. The real hard part will be locking the caliper in place, because plastic dial calipers dont have the set screw like the stainless steel digital ones used by most of us in EV

There exist metal calipers with screws that aren't digital. I would imagine those might work well.

[BryantLi]

The caliper steering system is an accurate system for steering that works exceptionally well when adequately mounted and calibrated. If you have the time and resources to do so, it would be a good idea to use a caliper system. However, the section of the rules regarding electronic components (3.f.) does not allow electronic measurement of any kind, excluding a stand-alone calculator, so, most likely, you will have to compromise to a vernier or a dial caliper, instead of a digital one like those used in division C. This leaves more opportunity for human error while setting up the buggy, especially under the stress of competition.

If you built the buggy to only have one steering setting, you could expect to be able to keep up with other teams with adjustable steering at some less competitive invitationals and possibly regionals depending on how competitive your area is. If your team is in a more competitive region, an adjustable steering system would be well worth it.

You should also make sure that whatever system you use, it can be set up quickly enough for two runs in eight minutes.

That is pretty interesting. How would you mount the caliper on the chassis? The wheels move in an arc, but the caliper moves linearly. How would that work?

[invisiblebanana]

The caliper steering system is an accurate system for steering that works exceptionally well when adequately mounted and calibrated. If you have the time and resources to do so, it would be a good idea to use a caliper system. However, the section of the rules regarding electronic components (3.f.) does not allow electronic measurement of any kind, excluding a stand-alone calculator, so, most likely, you will have to compromise to a vernier or a dial caliper, instead of a digital one like those used in division C. This leaves more opportunity for human error while setting up the buggy, especially under the stress of competition.

If you built the buggy to only have one steering setting, you could expect to be able to keep up with other teams with adjustable steering at some less competitive invitationals and possibly regionals depending on how competitive your area is. If your team is in a more competitive region, an adjustable steering system would be well worth it.

You should also make sure that whatever system you use, it can be set up quickly enough for two runs in eight minutes.

That is pretty interesting. How would you mount the caliper on the chassis? The wheels move in an arc, but the caliper moves linearly. How would that work?

You use ball bearing blocks, and attach one of the blocks to the caliper. The caliper basically adjusts the angle of the axle as you move it. I guess you can epoxy the caliper, and you could also drill into it if it's plastic. See the video below for more details.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKC8MYRgflI

The caliper essentially moves one of the bearing blocks (which isn't attached to the chassis) while the other bearing block is fixed. This causes the rod to be angled, which turns the vehicle.

[cool hand luke]

we tried calipers, I'm sure some people get them to work but we didn't and found a much easier way of doing it by changing wheel sizes.

[invisiblebanana]

Did you use BaneBots? Since that would've been pretty expensive.

I also don't really understand how that would be easier than just turning a knob on a caliper tho

[cool hand luke]

I have no idea what a bane bot is. It's not that it's easier, we just didn't have any luck getting repeatable results when changing from one setting on the caliper to another. It could be that we didn't set it up originally for a caliper, and that once we reset it we had enough play in the way we attached the axle to the body that it didn't work. we only needed 3-4 thousands difference in the settings to change the arc form 12 meters to 9, so it was really hard to be that precise.

[Tendan]

I have no idea what a bane bot is.

Banebots is a company that sells things like wheels and motors. Their wheels are a popular choice for events like this. They look like a black disk with blue, orange, or green rubber around the edge.

It's not that it's easier, we just didn't have any luck getting repeatable results when changing from one setting on the caliper to another. It could be that we didn't set it up originally for a caliper, and that once we reset it we had enough play in the way we attached the axle to the body that it didn't work. we only needed 3-4 thousands difference in the settings to change the arc form 12 meters to 9, so it was really hard to be that precise.

There are alternatives to adjusting only the axle to steer. For example, I've seen some teams, ours included, that use a caliper to change the length of one of the sides of the buggy. Although, I'm not sure if that would make the margins for steering larger in your case.

Also, what kind of a bonus are you able to get through by changing out the wheels?

[cool hand luke]

We usually leave about 40 cm between the cans. Some distances are a little more

[invisiblebanana]

Well, I'd advise using a caliper if you're doing this in the future to achieve better results and have a smaller bonus. If a 0.004 cm caliper adjustment changes your vehicle's trajectory by that much, you may want to consider changing your design a little to make it more precise.