The Exploding Bacon design process focuses on ensuring that the final design is a result of a team effort. Every student, mentor, and parent that comes to the meetings has an opportunity to have their ideas heard. Emphasis is placed on keeping the robot simple and practical while encouraging innovation and eloquence in design.  The team prototypes everything – sometimes two or three times over!

Normally, the final working prototype would be found on the final robot. Several of our mentors and students have been developing their CAD skills. Magnus Hi-Tech, a machine shop in Melbourne who just joined our team two years ago, donated machine time to fabricate our final parts! This extra step really improved the quality and reliability of the robot, and makes it look awesome!

Drive Base

Exploding Bacon has been using custom built, bent sheet metal drive base designs for years. This year’s design builds on that experience and perfects it! The drive base provides structural support for every other component of the robot, so, above all else, it is strong! We have reinforced areas that have sustained damage in the past. We have removed material and used smaller shaft diameters to make the drive base lighter. We chose a 6-wheel, drop-center configuration to support our strategy of speed and power. The lower center wheel provides reduced resistance to quick turns by causing either the front or back wheel pairs to float above the floor by a fraction of an inch. The drive uses pneumatic shifters which are programmed to stay in high speed unless commanded otherwise by the driver. So, the driver only uses low speed for quick acceleration from a stop, pushing other robots, or precisely lining up for a shot. For everything else, the robot runs in high speed. Each wheel’s axle is supported on two sides for strength – no cantilevered axles! Every wheel is driven via chain. The middle wheels are directly driven by super-shifter shafts.

Therefore, any broken chains will not disable the robot! With two CIMs on each super-shifter, there is plenty of power to go around, whether you want to use it for speed or torque. Each CIM is precisely controlled by Talon speed controller.. Kung-Fu Pig is a highly maneuverable, quick, strong, and smooth robot!