Video tutorials -

• Rubber band

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• LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3

Using a number of axles, beams and rubber bands we collect many loops at once. This is an important part of every competition, mostly of the FIRST LEGO League.

In this second part we continue with the next few tasks from the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) 2013 competition. Using the same rubber band attachment we lift the house and collect a few of the humans and cargoes.

In the final video we explore how to trigger the release of the attachment with just a rubber band. The release is triggered with a gear wheel that rotates in a specific way. This saves speed, does not require additional LEGO Mindstorms motor and is precise enough for a competition. 

Previously we caught the Truck with two rubber bands. The next step was to lift it. For lifting we used the Medium LEGO Mindstorms EV3 motors. In this video we are extending the attachment so that we could catch also the Ambulance. In forth video we would explore how to release both vehicles after transporting them.

"The devil is in the details". We are improving the Rubber band attachment with a Flywheel by introducing a few small, but important modifications that make the whole robot attachment more stable and reliable. With the conclusion of the series this attachment could be used as a basis for some very interesting STEM demonstrations on energy accumulation and conservation.

Extend the previously build attachment for the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Nature's Fury competition so that we can move the Truck and Ambulance up and down. 

With this series of videos we are looking at FIRST LEGO League 2013 Nature's Fury competition and we are building a robot for accomplishing some of the mission. It would be a tutorial with at least four parts and we are building a complex attachment that could catch, lift and release different parts with only one motor and rubber bands. Not one, not two, but three movements with only one motor. 

The attachment is now so advanced that we can do two tasks at once with it in order to solve the FIRST LEGO League 2014 World Class Search Engine Mission.

The third part of the series the goal is to extend the robot attachment so that we could solve the second part of the FIRST LEGO League World Class mission challenge - to take the loop.

In this tutorial of the series we would get into more details on how the flywheel works, what's its purpose and how the whole attachment is triggered with the first rubber band.

Let's try to integrate more of the things we have learned into a single attachment. One that could accumulate energy, conserve it and use it at the appropriate time. All this because of a Rubber Band and a Flywheel - and if you don't know what a flywheel is you should definitely watch this videos 

The Department of "throwing" is ruled by rubber bands. Impulsive power release in a short amount of time. In this video we are building an attachment that throws a ball and accomplishes the FIRST LEGO League 2012 bowling competition.

With this attachment we just share an idea. The attachment was build by an FLL team called Brother in Arms and they needed a way to turn two axles in different direction, one at a time. The attachment was not used in the final robot design and construction, but presents a nice idea.

Enchansing a previous attachment, but only this time we are solving the FIRST LEGO League 2012 Medicine mission. There is a lever and a rubber band. When the lever is released the rubber band activates the attachment. 

The attachment builds on previous episodes this time using two LEGO rubber bands. When a lever is released the rubber band exerts pressure on it and moves it in a circular motion. As an example we are solving the 2012 FIRST LEGO League, Senior Solutions, stove mission (which was quite interesting as a mission)

Rubber bands in the LEGO Mindstorms sets are very handy when it comes to collecting objects, especially loops. The mechanism most of the time could work like this - an axle is pushed, a rubber band is released and a lever collects the loop. 

The previous rubber bands video showed a way to trigger the rubber band without a motor. This video gives one more idea on how to lift an axle and in this way release the rubber band. Use the idea for you LEGO Mindstorms robot constructions.

In part one we build an attachment that uses a rubber band to solve a competition challenge. The rubber band was released with the use of a motor. In this video we are removing the dependency on the motor and you could use the motor for other missions.

The robot attachment build in this tutorial gives an idea on how to release a rubber band at a specific moment using a motor. It's a simple, but yet powerful technique on using rubber bands. 

Rubber bands can be quite powerful. Based on several requests from you we are starting a series on using the LEGO Rubber bands available in the Mindstorms set.