Gravity Vehicle C

[mnoga]

Since timing the vehicle was removed, it should be possible for one person to run the event.

[CPScienceDude]

Since timing the vehicle was removed, it should be possible for one person to run the event.

I suppose that's true, but I'd still expect at least 2-3 ES's to operate 2 tracks and impound at medium/larger invitationals.

[sciolyperson1]

Since timing the vehicle was removed, it should be possible for one person to run the event.

I suspect it was removed to give coaches the ability to supervise their teams car at satellite competitions - so yes, one at satellite tournaments, but probably two or three at normal ones

[BobaTeaTastesGood]

Okay, so I'm working on my ramp. What thickness polycarbonate would everyone recommended? I'm thinking either 1/16 or 3/32... this is my first year in this event so any help is appreciated!

[bernard]

Since timing the vehicle was removed, it should be possible for one person to run the event.

I suspect it was removed to give coaches the ability to supervise their teams car at satellite competitions - so yes, one at satellite tournaments, but probably two or three at normal ones

Also with many run times at just a few seconds, human error and variation in timing styles can have a proportionally significant impact on scores if timing is considered.

[unphayzed]

Okay, so I'm working on my ramp. What thickness polycarbonate would everyone recommended? I'm thinking either 1/16 or 3/32... this is my first year in this event so any help is appreciated!

Hi BobaTeaTastesGood,

Between 1/16 and 3/32 polycarbonate thickness for your ramp, I would definitely choose 3/32. Something that I have experienced when building GV ramps is that if your vehicle is heavy it may bend the polycarbonate sheet as it rolls down the ramp. These bends are especially noticeable with thinner polycarbonate sheets, and you may experience less consistency with your GV's results from these bends. I have found some success with 1/8 thickness polycarbonate but the bends were still somewhat noticable.

Now, these bends that I have experienced have occurred in part because of my GV's weight (~2 kg) so you might not experience bends, and, in turn, inconsistencies, to the same degree as me if your GV is relatively light (<1kg). One way that I have discovered to counteract these bends is to place some form of a support structure in the middle of the polycarbonate sheet. The type of support that I found useful was an identical cutout as the outer edge pieces that held the curve of the ramp; I simply placed this identical cutout in the center of the ramp and polycarbonate sheet to prevent bending.

If you want any other info regarding tips for building your GV ramp, please check out this article that I made covering this exact topic: https://unphayzed.com/2020/05/25/how-to ... icle-ramp/
https://unphayzed.com/2020/07/13/how-to ... mechanism/

Hope that this helped answer your question!

[BobaTeaTastesGood]

Okay, so I'm working on my ramp. What thickness polycarbonate would everyone recommended? I'm thinking either 1/16 or 3/32... this is my first year in this event so any help is appreciated!

Hi BobaTeaTastesGood,

Between 1/16 and 3/32 polycarbonate thickness for your ramp, I would definitely choose 3/32. Something that I have experienced when building GV ramps is that if your vehicle is heavy it may bend the polycarbonate sheet as it rolls down the ramp. These bends are especially noticeable with thinner polycarbonate sheets, and you may experience less consistency with your GV's results from these bends. I have found some success with 1/8 thickness polycarbonate but the bends were still somewhat noticable.

Now, these bends that I have experienced have occurred in part because of my GV's weight (~2 kg) so you might not experience bends, and, in turn, inconsistencies, to the same degree as me if your GV is relatively light (<1kg). One way that I have discovered to counteract these bends is to place some form of a support structure in the middle of the polycarbonate sheet. The type of support that I found useful was an identical cutout as the outer edge pieces that held the curve of the ramp; I simply placed this identical cutout in the center of the ramp and polycarbonate sheet to prevent bending.

If you want any other info regarding tips for building your GV ramp, please check out this article that I made covering this exact topic: https://unphayzed.com/2020/05/25/how-to ... icle-ramp/
https://unphayzed.com/2020/07/13/how-to ... mechanism/

Hope that this helped answer your question!

Time doesn't count towards run score; you can just lower the ramp to avoid bending lol

It's worth mentioning that some of the fundamental ideas present in your Unphayzed's article are relevant to the 2019-2020 season, but NOT the 2020-2021 season. Notably, time doesn't count, so you do NOT need to maximize height.

BobaTeaTastesGood, your ramp surface should be built on the ramp supports, rather than building ramp supports under your ramp surface. Once you have a stable ramp support (left/right walls, back wall), then you can use polycarbonate sheets as thin as 1/32, without hindering the performance of your vehicle.

Between 1/16 and 3/32 polycarbonate thickness for your ramp, I would definitely choose 3/32.

3/32 is extremely thick, you will not be able to have a smooth transition between the ramp surface and track surface.

Hope that helps,
Jason

[unphayzed]

Okay, so I'm working on my ramp. What thickness polycarbonate would everyone recommended? I'm thinking either 1/16 or 3/32... this is my first year in this event so any help is appreciated!

Hi BobaTeaTastesGood,

Between 1/16 and 3/32 polycarbonate thickness for your ramp, I would definitely choose 3/32. Something that I have experienced when building GV ramps is that if your vehicle is heavy it may bend the polycarbonate sheet as it rolls down the ramp. These bends are especially noticeable with thinner polycarbonate sheets, and you may experience less consistency with your GV's results from these bends. I have found some success with 1/8 thickness polycarbonate but the bends were still somewhat noticable.

Now, these bends that I have experienced have occurred in part because of my GV's weight (~2 kg) so you might not experience bends, and, in turn, inconsistencies, to the same degree as me if your GV is relatively light (<1kg). One way that I have discovered to counteract these bends is to place some form of a support structure in the middle of the polycarbonate sheet. The type of support that I found useful was an identical cutout as the outer edge pieces that held the curve of the ramp; I simply placed this identical cutout in the center of the ramp and polycarbonate sheet to prevent bending.

If you want any other info regarding tips for building your GV ramp, please check out this article that I made covering this exact topic: https://unphayzed.com/2020/05/25/how-to ... icle-ramp/
https://unphayzed.com/2020/07/13/how-to ... mechanism/

Hope that this helped answer your question!

Time doesn't count towards run score; you can just lower the ramp to avoid bending lol

It's worth mentioning that some of the fundamental ideas present in your Unphayzed's article are relevant to the 2019-2020 season, but NOT the 2020-2021 season. Notably, time doesn't count, so you do NOT need to maximize height.

BobaTeaTastesGood, your ramp surface should be built on the ramp supports, rather than building ramp supports under your ramp surface. Once you have a stable ramp support (left/right walls, back wall), then you can use polycarbonate sheets as thin as 1/32, without hindering the performance of your vehicle.

Between 1/16 and 3/32 polycarbonate thickness for your ramp, I would definitely choose 3/32.

3/32 is extremely thick, you will not be able to have a smooth transition between the ramp surface and track surface.

Hope that helps,
Jason

Thank you for making that clarification! I completely forgot about time nom longer being a factor, lol.

[AveragePeasant]

I also feel that accurately completing three runs could be tough. Do you take your time setting up and get two quality runs in, or do you "rush" to get the three runs? A little bit of strategy here in creating a vehicle/ramp that is incredibly fast to set up and reset if you want three good runs.

It also helps that teams now get 10 minutes, rather than 8 minutes before.

Very true. We will see how it plays out. Well, maybe- since most competitions are going the mini route, we won't see this event run often (at least for the competitions we will be at).

It also could be difficult considering some tournaments have gone virtual

[CPScienceDude]

It also helps that teams now get 10 minutes, rather than 8 minutes before.

Very true. We will see how it plays out. Well, maybe- since most competitions are going the mini route, we won't see this event run often (at least for the competitions we will be at).

It also could be difficult considering some tournaments have gone virtual

At this point, pretty much every single tournament is Satellite SO or MiniSO. Considering that, I don’t think we’ll see very many gravity vehicle runs for the rest of the season.