This page is dedicated to common build questions that are not covered in other pages

Help! My screw is stripped!

You have a couple options

  • Make your own head
    • Take an oscillating tool/dremel/angle grinder/whatever to the head of the bolt and create a slot
    • Use a flat head screwdriver to unscrew it
  • Bolt cutters/Hacksaw
    • This will cut the bolt and disconnect the two parts without having to use an allen wrench
    • Requires that a piece of the bolt is exposed
  • Pretend its a rivet
    • This involves taking a large drillbit nobody cares about and spending a few minutes drilling out the head of the bolt
    • This stops the bolt from grabbing onto one of the things that it is holding
    • This will dull the drillbit pretty badly
  • Something else

Help! My motors are stalling/struggling

You have a couple options

  • Swap battery
    • If the battery is discharged or has otherwise been running for a while, it will not be able to deliver the same amount of power to the motors
    • As a result, the motors cannot deliver as much power to your mechanism
  • Alter design
    • Add more motors
      • Adding more motors will distribute the load across more motors, so each motor does not have to fight/carry the load as much
      • Will also help with acceleration/deceleration
    • Counterbalance the mechanism (add a counter force)
      • Try to reduce the load by adding springs
      • Constant force springs / Spring motors are recommended for this as they will deliver constant rather than variable force
      • Info on mounting CFS’s
      • You can buy springs from Spiroflex or Vulcan Spring or wherever you find them cheap
    • Change gear/sprocket/belt pulley ratio
      • Will change the amount of torque the motor experiences
      • Less torque = motor can go faster

Help! My auto is acting funny and code was not changed

You have couple options

  • Check encoders and wires
    • If they become unplugged/sliced/removed, the robot will not know where it is
    • If the encoder light is red, then the readings are not accurate and you will need to move it closer to its magnet
  • Check code for voltage-based movements
    • Voltage-based movements are unreliable and depend on battery voltage
    • Swapping them out with encoder/sensor based movements will improve consistency
  • Retune PID
    • Mechanical changes (weight distribution, wheel wear, gear wear, etc) can impact robot motion parameters
    • Retuning PID/PP Lookahead/whatever can help solve these issues

Help! My tap broke inside a hole!

You’re screwed unless you have a tap extractor