Celt-X 5406 presents 'Guillermo'

[nuclearnerd]

We are proud to introduce 'Guillermo' our first ever robot. See you at the Waterloo regional! #omgrobots @FRCDesigns http://youtu.be/-HL9d6KUhug

[asid61]

Are you sure you guys are rookies? That was a really unique and good reveal video, and that robot looks very very good! The tilted pistons for arm actuation and the rollers on the feeder station intake really stand out to me.

[nuclearnerd]

Even as rookies, we knew we would have to work hard to compete at Waterloo. Thanks for the compliments!

[Meiers23]

Very impressed with this rookie bot. I can't wait to see it compete!

[Josh Goodman]

Wow! This is a fantastic design for even veteran teams. I love how KISS this is. Waterloo teams I'm sure will be more than happy to be playing on an alliance with you. The fact that it's a rookie bot just makes it that more impressive.

Congrats guys and good luck at your competitions!

[Lunitic2197]

Are you sure you guys are rookies? Do any of you have previous FIRST Experience? And the video is awesome! Looking forward to seeing you on the webcasts!

[philso]

Another amazingly thoughtful design! With rookies like you and other young teams like Makeshift, Waterloo will be tough. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we will be at Bayou so I will have to watch the archived videos.

Do the grey rollers at the front spin backwards to slow down or stop the totes? Are the white rollers passive? Am I correct in thinking that the whole upper structure is attached to the chassis using 8 bolts?

[nuclearnerd]

About half of our mentors have previous FIRST experience. We've also been lucky to recruit several teachers and parents with no previous experience, but with incredible commitment. Everyone has worked hard to bring our students have from zero to comp-ready at an incredibly quick rate.

We are also very grateful for the support we've received from teams 4039 and 2056, FIRST and FIRST Canada, McMaster Innovation Park, the Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board. This was a hard game to start out with, but it was made easier thanks to you!

[nuclearnerd]

Do the grey rollers at the front spin backwards to slow down or stop the totes? Are the white rollers passive? Am I correct in thinking that the whole upper structure is attached to the chassis using 8 bolts?

The white rollers are passive (they could have been replaced with a plastic sheet, but that's what we started with, and it worked so we kept them). The black rollers spin forward, just slow enough to brake the totes and then drop them nicely in front of the bumper - they were a late addition, but they work pretty well!

You are right that the superstructure pieces connect to the base with just a few bolts through 1/4 inch panel nuts (with washers to adjust heights). It isn't the lightest way to build a robot, but the modularity let us get some mechanism built while the others were still being worked out, and makes repairs easier.

Thanks for your interest!

[Matt Ciprietti]

As school board-mates, all of 4039 are super proud of 5406 and their awesome robot. When I first saw it all put together I just laughed and thought that no one would believe they were rookies, either :D

The beauty of the Waterloo regional (and Ontario in general) is that it drives teams to compete like this. It really is true that successful robotics programs breed other successful ones, and Ontario is stacked with awesome teams all within about an hour's drive of each other, forming a great community up here.

Go 5406!

[philso]

You are right that the superstructure pieces connect to the base with just a few bolts through 1/4 inch panel nuts (with washers to adjust heights). It isn't the lightest way to build a robot, but the modularity let us get some mechanism built while the others were still being worked out, and makes repairs easier.

Did you actually build and test the superstructure before attaching it to the chassis? Did you find any disadvantages to this approach?

[nuclearnerd]

Did you actually build and test the superstructure before attaching it to the chassis? Did you find any disadvantages to this approach?

We tested the elevator separately, but the ramp and roller came later. We also tested our drive base before integration.

I can't think of a major disadvantage of the bolt-on superstructure except for weight. The panel nuts are dead easy, although we did have some challenge lineing up mounting holes.

The modularity allowed us also to withhold our elevator after bag day so we could mount it in our practice chassis (a 2012 c-frame donated by MakeShift - thanks guys!) That saved us a lot of work (and cost) on the practice bot. We hope to remount everything on Guillermo within an hour of un-bagging.

[safiq10]

Wow. The skill of rookie teams just keeps on increasing! Keep going guys, You can guarantee that I will be shouting at my screen cheering you guys on!