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Jay Trzaskos
04-12-2013, 20:08
Hello All,
The Robowranglers have been doing some shop cleanup in anticipation of the 2014 FRC season. As part of this cleaning frenzy, we've identified a few spare parts and assemblies which we don't have a home for.

In the past, we've had a few other FRC teams ask for some of our extra sheet metal (we do our best to help out with these requests). In each of these cases, the teams would later comment on how much they learned about sheet metal fabrication techniques by analyzing the components & assemblies they received. We know it is helpful to review a CAD model, but there can be a benefit from holding a part in your hand and trying to bend it in different ways.

To this end...
We're offering a few different Robowrangler assemblies to other teams for educational purposes. These are all spare components -- we don't disassemble our competition robots after a season.

If you're interested in one of the items listed below, send me an email at [redacted] with your request. We'll do our best to accommodate as many specific requests as we can.

If you have any questions about these components or this offer, shoot me an email!

Thanks,
Jay

1. 2012 Shooter Hood
http://i.imgur.com/bPbCCKM.jpg
This assembly is off the 2012 Robowrangler Robot - Scorpion. It was used to deflect the balls as they exited the shooter to adjust for shots from either the key or the fender.

2. 2010 Kicker Foot
http://i.imgur.com/VlnE2HM.jpg
This assembly is off the 2010 Robowrangler Robot - Armadillo. It was used to pivot down and kick the soccerballs. The entire thing is designed to be one large shell, so individual pieces which would be susceptible to torsional deflection are made strong as part of the larger assembly.

3. 2013 Shooter Core
http://i.imgur.com/LuAHXNr.jpg
This assembly is off the 2013 Robowrangler Robot - Viper. It was the rigid spine into which the shooter wheels and motors were mounted. We determined early on that rigidity would be important to a consistent long-range shot. As such, this core was designed to hold the shooter wheels in a consistent manner. The entire shooter core assembly was designed to be modular, so we can remove the key shooter components and swap them into a new overall assembly.

4. 2013 Hopper Brace
http://i.imgur.com/T6fZ8BG.jpg
This assembly is off the 2013 Robowrangler Robot - Viper. It was the very back of the shooter assembly, and held the pneumatic cylinder which pushed frisbees into the shooter wheels. It is a good example of how bent sheetmetal pieces can be reinforced using "fins" to maintain strength around bends. This technique allows for lightweight assemblies to be very rigid.

5. 2013 Climber Spine
http://i.imgur.com/VicvPIH.jpg
This assembly is off the 2013 Robowrangler Robot - Viper. It is the spine of the climber mechanism. The hook & shuttle ran up and down on this item, driving along the rack gear in the center. This assembly shows how sheet-metal C-channels can be layered in creative ways to create custom "extrusion" shapes. It also has a really cool sheet metal rack gear, which we think is awesome. This assembly was used during the Lone Star, Dallas, and Silicon Valley Regionals before being replaced at Worlds.

6. 2013 Drive Module Frame (3x)
http://i.imgur.com/iBV4iUI.jpg
We have three assemblies off the 2013 Robowrangler Robot - Viper. These frames were used as drive modules in our 2013 drivetrain. They show how using sheetmetal bent at odd angles can be used to create shells which have greater torsional strength, even out of thin material.

7. 2010 Hanging Tower
http://i.imgur.com/JgW2aQR.jpg
This assembly is off the 2010 Robowrangler Robot - Armadillo. This tower mounted on the top of the robot, and contained the robot's hanging mechanism. Interestingly enough... we sawzalled the one on the actual competition robot and removed the entire hanging subsystem. This assembly hasn't suffered the same fate, and remains complete.

8. 2011 Claws (2x)
http://i.imgur.com/7UFwDIv.jpg
We have two assemblies off the 2011 Robowrangler Robot - Raptor. These roller claws were used to grab the game objects. They show a variety of very cool sheet-metal techniques.

geomapguy
04-12-2013, 20:18
Email sent :)

mrwright
04-12-2013, 20:24
This is an awesome offer! We would love to take you up on it. Email sent.

tim-tim
04-12-2013, 20:49
Thank you to Jay and 148 for making this happen. This is a great a learning experience for so many. I have sent an email.

As a team that has learned from other team's CAD files and spare assemblies, this is an opportunity that will provide an abundance of learning tools. Happy learning to all.

Phyrxes
04-12-2013, 20:56
Jay,

Thanks for this offer and e-mail sent. Your students inspired mine to work harder at finding a sheet metal sponsor!

Akash Rastogi
04-12-2013, 21:01
This is sick.

Email sent.

BurkeHalderman
04-12-2013, 21:01
This is so awesome! Armadillo is easily my favorite FRC robot ever! Email has been sent.

MetalJacket
04-12-2013, 21:05
Wow, not to sound overly dramatic or anything but this is like a dream come true for me. I love your robots and your whole process inspired me to seek similar resources for my team

Akash Rastogi
04-12-2013, 21:07
This is so awesome! Armadillo is easily my favorite FRC robot ever! Email has been sent.

2011 is my current favorite, 2010 is a close second.

PS - Next time, send stuff to the IRI charity auction. I think a lot of people want to see your sheetmetal techniques and keep these assemblies. :)

MetalJacket
04-12-2013, 21:08
2011 is my current favorite, 2010 is a close second.

Agreed - Raptor is amazing

BurkeHalderman
04-12-2013, 21:15
2011 is my current favorite, 2010 is a close second.

Back in 2010: my rookie year, our team was barely able to field a moving robot (in fact the first time it moved was in our first match) we had no experience or mentors with FIRST experience, 148's 2010 robot was the first powerhouse robot I'd ever seen (unveiling video) and it's inspired me ever since. 148 is my idol team. Our 2013 robot was even designed to look like a 148 bot!

Michael Blake
04-12-2013, 22:03
We were fortunate to be gifted by 148 Robowranglers one of their spare 2011 Raptor Claws with motor and pneumatic cylinder installed after the 2011 official-season ended.

We proceeded to install it on the end of our version of an operating arm on our rookie 2011 Hiking Viking... AND it worked at 2011 off-season competitions!!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/322825_10150391737790745_2043814108_o.jpg (2011 PHOTO)

STILL works today...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200191299944415 (2013 VIDEO from a week ago)

We're _grateful_ to 148 for all they've done for 3481... they're the most generous team we know.

Our Hiking Viking ended up as one of the coolest PVC/Wood/Metal robots (aka a TANK) I've seen... IMHO... ;-)

--Michael Blake

Ryan Dognaux
04-12-2013, 22:37
Very cool that you guys are doing this, I sent an e-mail as well. Our team acquired a sheet metal sponsor in the off-season but is still learning how to design sheet metal parts. Having an example part from you guys would be great!

Ben Martin
04-12-2013, 22:58
Email sent.

Thank you to Jay and everyone else on team 148 for sharing your engineering expertise with the rest of the FIRST community. I consult your past CAD models and technical resources multiple times each build season. It is all greatly appreciated!

Anupam Goli
04-12-2013, 23:42
Sent an email.

This is a super exciting opportunity to show our students effective manipulator designs! Thank you 148 for providing us the opportunity to obtain these components!

Jay Trzaskos
05-12-2013, 11:54
Hello All,

Simply put, we are overwhelmed by the number of responses we have received for this offer. We wish we could fulfill each and every one of these requests. In order to accommodate as many teams as possible, we are scouring our shop for more spare assemblies. I will be reviewing the e-mails I have received with a few other team members, and will be contacting people directly within the next day or so.

We understand how much can be gained from reviewing the design work of another team (we do it too) and welcome everyone to review the CAD we have posted of past robots. I have linked to the CAD from our 2008-2011 robots below. We are also more than happy to discuss sheet metal construction techniques with anyone who would like to learn, just shoot me an e-mail at [redacted] and I'll make sure you hear back from us.

Thanks again for the incredible response,
Jay

Tumbleweed - 2008 (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2277)
Tornado - 2009 (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2280)
Armadillo - 2010 (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2394)
Raptor - 2011 (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2509)

geomapguy
05-12-2013, 13:14
For reference, does IFI or L-3 help 148 with sheet metal fabrication??

tim-tim
05-12-2013, 13:31
For reference, does IFI or L-3 help 148 with sheet metal fabrication??

I'm 99.9% positive that IFI does their sheet metal work.

They made a video a few years ago showing a brief overview of How It's Made: Sheet Metal Fabrication (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPeA94gEtp0). This is a great video and shows you a lot of information about the process, from design to raw materials to finished product.

Jay Trzaskos
10-12-2013, 01:23
Hello Again,

We dug a little deeper around the shop and found a few more assemblies to ship out. I’ve sat down and gone through the list of e-mails I’ve received and divvied up the 17 assemblies that are available. Unfortunately this means that not everyone who initially responded will be able to receive the assemblies that they requested. I have however worked hard to make sure every deserving team received a fitting assembly.


So, in the next 24-48 hours I will be responding to those e-mails in order to discuss shipping arrangements, etc. Please reply quickly so that we can get these parts out to you asap.

Please, no additional requests. We already have more interest than we can fulfill, but please feel free to e-mail me with any questions regarding sheet metal design. Thanks again to everyone for their enthusiasm. Thank you again for all of the positive responses. We hope that everyone is able to learn as much as possible about sheet metal design from these parts.

Jay


1. 2012 Shooter Hood & Base
http://i.imgur.com/wtPQgTe.jpg
This assembly is off the 2012 Robowrangler Robot - Scorpion. It was used to deflect the balls as they exited the shooter to adjust for shots from either the key or the fender. This assembly also includes the base, which the shooter was mounted to.

2. 2011 Drive Module
http://i.imgur.com/B4Lj3MW.jpg
This assembly is off the 2011 Robowrangler Robot - Raptor. This is a past iteration of the 148 drive module and shows some of the improvements that can be made through continuous iteration. These include size and weight reduction through…

3. 2013 Shooter Frame
http://i.imgur.com/1wwkdbJ.jpg
This assembly is off the 2013 Robowrangler Robot - Viper. This is the rigid frame which made up the shooter. The skinned rib construction allowed for a lightweight yet incredibly rigid structure that allowed for consistent shooting anywhere on the field.

4. 2012 Stinger
http://i.imgur.com/wVlDZtR.jpg
This assembly is off the 2012 Robowrangler Robot - Scorpion. This assembly was used to raise one end of the bridge when triple balancing.

5. 2011 Mini-bot Deployment Mechanism
http://i.imgur.com/rekcedH.jpg
This assembly is off the 2012 Robowrangler Robot - Raptor. It is the mechanism which was used to align with the pole and launch the mini-bot.

6. 2013 Electronics Panel
http://i.imgur.com/kkI0lxo.jpg
This assembly is off the 2013 Robowrangler Robot - Viper. This is the panel used to mount all of the electronics for our 2013 practice robot. It shows some signs of warping from a few falls we took off of the pyramid, but also shows how rigid structures can be built out of thin materials

DampRobot
10-12-2013, 01:42
Just wondering, what was the floor of your shooter made out of? Also, how much iteration did it take to arrive at your final shooter design? Did you immediately decide on FCSing, or just discover it was possible in prototyping?

tim-tim
10-12-2013, 07:37
I was really waiting to see if an entire practice robot would show up on the list.