Ramp Creation

[MoMoney$$$;)0)]

Hi everyone,

I am using plywood support with a metal sheet for my ramp. However, I've noticed that the plywood tends to warp as time goes by which is affecting our vehicle consistency as we test over time. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prevent the wood from warping further? My coach said she saw something online about how painting the plywood would prevent it from warping further. Does anyone have experience with this? Would it work?

I guess in depends of the type of warping. For example, if it is warping it can depend between bow, cook, kink, cup, or wind (SEE HERE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_warping). If it's a warp that's severe I wouldn't risk it and just make a new ramp, however if it's a small warp (such as cup warp) I would apply an epoxy resin (or paint if you're on a time crunch). However, if it a crook or a bow warp In would just go for a new ramp since the supports may negatively affect the ramp at the time of the competition (and when you're rebuilding it try to apply epoxy resin)

[Tendan]

Hi everyone,

I am using plywood support with a metal sheet for my ramp. However, I've noticed that the plywood tends to warp as time goes by which is affecting our vehicle consistency as we test over time. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prevent the wood from warping further? My coach said she saw something online about how painting the plywood would prevent it from warping further. Does anyone have experience with this? Would it work?

My guess is that the plywood is too thin, so it's slowly compressing as you run the car more. If this is the case, I would say that you give your current ramp a frame made of larger wood (i.e. 2x3's or 2x4's) to take the load off of the plywood, or you could make a completely new ramp with a frame of 2x3's, 2x4's, or something similar. Though I would try to figure out what's causing the warping first because my guess could be very wrong.

Also, if it does turn out that the warping is caused by water/humidity, painting the wood should help, just pick a paint that is labeled as weatherproof, waterproof, etc.

[annabelle0308]

Hello,
What's the cheapest material a ramp can be made of in a very short amount of time?

[CPScienceDude]

Hello,
What's the cheapest material a ramp can be made of in a very short amount of time?

wood would probably be the best option

[sciolyperson1]

Hello,
What's the cheapest material a ramp can be made of in a very short amount of time?

Look in the discard wood pile at home Depot or Lowe's, theyrr usually thin and easy to bend. (And you can get it for free)

[CPScienceDude]

Quick warning if you're working with sheet metal. It's sharp lol. Found that out the hard way. Dropped my ramp and as it was falling the edge of the sheet metal cut my hand open. oof.

[xiangyu]

Quick warning if you're working with sheet metal. It's sharp lol. Found that out the hard way. Dropped my ramp and as it was falling the edge of the sheet metal cut my hand open. oof.

Oh no! Ouch! Are you okay? Luckily my coach worked with the robotics team before and knows about this so we wore gloves. Yikes!

[MTV<=>Operator]

Is there any ideal thickness for plywood used for the ramp? Would .25" thick be sufficient? Also, I was thinking of using ABS sheets for the sides of the ramp so that I could cut them accurately with the CNC machine at my school, but I can't think of any reliable way to attach these to sheet metal (the ABS is about 6mm thick)

[SluffAndRuff]

What's a good thickness for the sheet metal to build the ramp out of - something that's thin enough to work with easily but not too thin to be weak? Thanks!

[xiangyu]

What's a good thickness for the sheet metal to build the ramp out of - something that's thin enough to work with easily but not too thin to be weak? Thanks!

Go to your local lowes/store that has sheet metal and get a sense on site. I would go for the aluminum sheets as they are very flexible.