Our final machine looks like a SandCrawler from Star Wars. It has a box shape with tall walls (to keep balls in), tank-like treads, and a ball eating roller in the front. It was only 6 inches wide so it could fit along the top of the wave field. The treads were used instead of wheels so we didn't need as much torque and could have more points of contact when near the top of the stairs. Even with these changes, we still couldn't get up the stairs; we didn't have enough torque. Although we couldn't get up the wave field, we were a pretty fast machine and could pick up and deposit balls quite easily.
The roller, the ramp, and the box shape are the only things kept from the original design. We had to use gears to make the treads go faster. Also, we needed to make a part to hold the gears in place. At first, it was closer to the machine, but that put our treads too far outside, so they wouldn't fit on top area. So, we have to move the gear box holder to the outside.
Our machine worked well, except when it had to. It was working wonderfully the day before the time trials. At the time trials, our tread popped off and we couldn't move after picking up our first two balls. After the time trial, we fixed this problem by changing the idle wheels to sprockets. Then, at the competition, our screws with lock tite on them were screwed in too tight, so our machine couldn't move.
Below are pictures of our finished machine, Car RamRod.
This is a great view of the treads and the roller in the front.
Here is the intimidating front view of Car RamRod. I would be so scared to be a ball and see this coming towards me.
This is a top view that shows the castle wall design for fitting the top onto the sides. You can also see some of the motor wiring and the motor for the roller (mounted on the top_.
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