Alvin

About Alvin
Alvin was built for use in the 2015 FRC game Recycle Rush and was named after the Superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools, J. Alvin Wilbanks.

Drive Train
Alvin's Chassis was an Andy Mark AM14U2, square configuration, from the Kit of Parts. There are 2 traction wheels in the front, and 2 dual omni wheels in the back. Powertrain is pretty standard. It's a 2-CIM gearbox located in the center of each side rail. Gates belts drive all 4 wheels.

Manipulator
Alvin's manipulator is an elevator lift with 2 pneumatic arms. we used an all brass air preparation system to conserve space and make it pretty :)

The elevator uses 2 steel-lined belts donated by Habasit. There is a Toughbox Mini gearbox with a 12.75:1 gear ratio, going to a Gates belt with a _(INSERT GEAR RATIO HERE)_ reduction on the sprockets. We have a ThunderShaft hex shaft with the 2 sprockets that drive the steel-lined belts.

On the lift itself we used a linear bearing kit from Competition Robot Parts. It is designed for standard 1x2 rectangular extrusion.

Limit switches and encoders help to enhance Alvin's speed and stacking capabilities, along with positive control/dynamic breaking on the lift. This makes the lift weight resistant and increases arm strength. The lift is made functional by two high-speed CIM motors. It has also been programmed to be automatically centered, adding on to Alvin's efficiency.

Code
Alvin was programmed in Java, the team's second year using the language. A copy of the code can be found here