The Rubber Tape Experiment

One feature of the Mk1 V1.0 Leafs was that when they were lept on to, or off of, they had tendency to shift around the Trunk. We decided to apply rubber tape to the inner heel and toe of a pre-existing Leaf to test out a quick method of adding additional friction. 

Additional friction was definitely what we were looking for, but the tape was not the solution for that. When taking advantage of the mobility of the Leafs repeatedly, the Leaf with the rubber tape transferred black residue onto the rough sisal rope. 

We considered switching to a smoother rope, but we also disliked the addition of yet another material, and wanted to attempt to build our friction solution out of wood.

(Photos taken April 9, 2023)

Leaf Tree

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3 responses to “The Rubber Tape Experiment”

  1. Updating the Attachment Mechanism – Leaf Tree Avatar
    Updating the Attachment Mechanism – Leaf Tree

    […] we initially tried using rubber tape on the inside of the gravity cleat to increase friction, the results were far from ideal, but the additional friction was the right direction! The next test was to make the gravity cleat […]

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  2. catreign Avatar
    catreign

    That’s a really interesting solution! It’s amazing that you were able to come up with a way to add additional friction without adding any extra materials. It’s great that you didn’t just settle for a solution that wasn’t quite right. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. petfaq Avatar
    petfaq

    This is such a clever solution to a difficult problem – kudos to the author for their creativity! The use of wood to increase friction is really interesting, thanks for sharing this!

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