Shooting: Mechanical Design
The launcher is comprised of a ramp, a gate, a launch motor, and a reload circuit. The balls start resting in the ramp with the gate closed. In order to shoot, the launcher motor starts spinning and the gate opens. The balls roll down the ramp into a PVC tube where the launcher wheel is mounted. The wheel pushes down on the foam balls and propels the balls out as is spins. In order to reload, a reload circuit is mounted at the entrance to the ramp so that it lines up with the reload station when the robot drives into home.