How many hours?

[Jeff Sharpe]

Just wondering how many hours your teams are REALLY working on designing, protoyping, documenting, building, testing etc.
Let's say total hours per week averaged for your top 10 student team members.
Build On!

[Yan Wang]

Being part of that group... we work 'officially' together as a team for approx. 3 hours a day; 8 hours on Saturday. However, people like me go home and do research, design, think, and work sometimes with other team members to just try to get ahead as much as possible. It ends up being around 5-6 hours a day... school is totally pointless.

[Adam Y.]

About 32hours counting today.:)

[ryan_f]

the average of our top 10 students?...i would say....1 hour

[Yan Wang]

^^ I'm not sure whether that's said in a joking manner... otherwise, how far along are you guys and do you think you'll get done at that rate?

[Sean_330]

With only 5 people on 330's team we are mentoring, ALL the poor people on 1197 have to put in at least 25 hours/week. They announced last week that they discovered "FIRST really takes over your life, doesn't it?"

[kmcclary]

Unfortunately, our problem is NOT student enthusiasm. Our limiting factor is the number of hours the students are ALLOWED to work.

Because we're building offsite from the school, due to insurance rules, a teacher MUST be present for the students to work. So, we're really limited by whatever hours we can find a TEACHER to be there. That's proved more difficult than we first thought. Most teachers are seriously overworked now, so not many are hot on the idea of going across town after a long day (plus papers to grade, etc.) to attend a build at an offsite location for long hours. Therefore, we have "teacher signup shifts". Different teachers are there for different days, and we have "holes" on occasion.

Whenever there's no teacher students can meet, program, carry materials around, sort, document, etc. but may not operate any power tools. Even "allen wrench work" is considered taboo. A "designated adult" becomes their "hands" to assemble something a STUDENT needs assembled. (A very weird situation...)

Needless to say this is a real pain to get much done whenever a teacher isn't there. We're trying to work out this insurance snafu now, but as we're already into Week Four of the build, we're not sure it'll make much difference at this point.

We KNEW this limit would factor into our robot's complexity. No "twenty seven motor 3D vectoring hovercraft drives with fifteen DOF arms" that takes 5000 machinist hours to make, etc... But, this just serves to make you think HARD about what you want to do, keep the KISS principle FIRMLY in mind, and be EFFECTIVE with your work hours. :)

We also had the foresight to chose our build technology VERY wisely (structural extrusion, modular assembly, etc.). This has allowed INCREDIBLY FAST progress whenever we CAN work, so we're still MUCH further ahead this year than my last team was last year.

We don't expect completion to be a problem. In fact, I think everyone should like what you see when it does arrive. 'Tis gonna be a VERY COOL robot... :D

Bottom line: Students may work a maximum of roughly 20 hours a week AT the site, but they come in PRIMED to work. Many however think about it a lot outside the build area, and come in with drawings, ideas, etc., so it is EXTREMELY hard to determine exactly how many hours any one student REALLY works on it.

Like any "passion", you virtually LIVE it while it is happening. How CAN you honestly count "the hours invested" in it???

- Keith

[evulish]

We also run into problems with when we can do it. We normally do it in the evenings from 6-9 but that's not very much time. Some people (adults) have other things they need to attend to. We used to work Fridays during the day but we can't any more. We 8a-5p on Saturdays...and thats the day we get most things done. Our team has a split attendance rate. There are either people who show up at everything for as long as possible or people that barely show their face. Actual work on the other hand...not a whole lot of that gets done. We're weeks into the build season and we're still designing. We don't have a thing built. I think theres going to be a loooong week before shipping.

[Yan Wang]

Lol, that sounds exactly like our team... saturdays from 10-5 and weekdays from 6-9 on m,w,f and 2:45-5:30 on t,t... however, some of us do so much stuff at home and plan ahead that we actually are very very productive.

[Ashley Weed]

We went from our usual schedule of Mon & Wed 6-9 and Fri & Sat 9-5 from previous years... to the new schedule of Mon-Thur 6-9 & Sat 9-5.... we have two less working hours a week this year.. and I think we are farther behind than ever.... possibility of looooonnngg weekend becoming looonnng weekendS.

[Madison]

My team meets each night from 7-10 and on weekends from 10-4.

My schedule is slightly more hectic. I'm doing something involving FIRST each day from about 11 am until 10 pm.

[Duke 13370]

Our team meets every day but sunday

mon.-thur. 4:30 - 8:00 or so
longer on fridays
and sat 10-8 (roughly)

if anyone person was there all that time they'ed be there 28 hours.

[Aaron Lussier]

Mon-Fri 5:30-10
Sat(in January)10-10
Sat(in Febuary)9-11(sometime into the next morning)
Sun 12-10

[Redhead Jokes]

We're meeting MWF 3p-8p, Sat Sun 8a-8p, Holiday weekday and non-student day 8a-8p.

Nelson and Miller family's generally there all the time.

Other kids come and go.

Nelson and Miller adults doing robotic stuff during weekdays when kids are in school.

Ready for a vacation!

[Jeremy L]

we're Wed and Thu 5-8 and Sat 9-4. WE get to sleep.

[ChewyMasterFlex]

Our core team members work from the end of school (2:15) till 6~9, which puts a real strain on our schoolwork, and we spend from 9~6 on weekends. This may explain why one of our senior members failed a french class that is one level below what I am studying, and I'm a Sophomore....

And yet we haven't gotten out of the design phase...are we screwed or what?:]

[Redhead Jokes]

Originally posted by Jeremy L
we're Wed and Thu 5-8 and Sat 9-4. WE get to sleep.

A mentor of ours says I need to teach the kids sleep hygiene, especially for during the regionals.

[whiskas]

It's summer vacations in Brazil ( unfair advantage? remember Dean's words: it's never a fair thing - though summer does bring its own difficulties ).
Our top5 students are in @ 8 AM and go as late as someone will leave the lab open ( usually last mentor/teacher will close it up around 8-9 PM ). With lunchtime breaks, etc, it ends up between 8-10hrs/day for 40++/wk, not counting weekends ( I haven't been there on a saturday yet ).
The mentors rotate shifts, I go mon/wed/fri, another goes tue/thu/fri, a third college student will do mostly everyday after his classes, and we have the full-time physics and robotics teacher during the typical working day hours.
But no matter the number of hours - we do get behind schedule. There are things hundreds of lab hours can't do ( external jobs, waiting for parts, ad infinitum... )

[Clark Gilbert]

We work 6 days a week, some people do 7.

Sunday- 1pm to 5pm (sometimes 6pm)

Monday thru Thursday- 2:25pm to 6:30(or 7:30)pm

Friday- Off..except for a few people, or a group here and there.

Saturday- 9am-whenever (around 5-6pm)

[BBFIRSTCHICK]

Well, team 1077 meets on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, 6 hours a day. In total its 18 or so hours a week.... Yet, I know in the final 2 weeks we are going to be meeting 7 days a week trying to get the bot done. We always wait for the last minute.

[GateRunner]

Spam is working Monday thru Thurs., 6 to 8:30, and Sat 9 to 4
Of course, this is still technically the design phase, so thats a minimum.

[RoboCoder]

mondays: 20 students max 5-8 PM
wednesdays/thursdays: 10 students 5-8 PM
sundays: 11-7
tuesdays we have off to give us a bit of a break, as well as fridays and saturdays......maybe have to work more on week before ship day, depending on whether or not we have access to the shop :-P
hope to have drive train running tomorrow, so much relies on a working drive train :D already signifigant progress on rest of robot, hopefully should start going pretty quickly

[LaurenH]

Team 1064:
M-F: 6 to 10 pm (sometimes students start at 4)
Sat: 9 to 5/7pm
Sun: 10 to 5/6pm

Team 111 last year:
M-F: 5:30 to 10/11pm (for mechanical/electrical) then 10pm to 2/4am (for software)
Sat: 10am to 5/8pm
Sun: 11am to 5/7pm
(You had to love cram time: school to sports to FIRST to shower to school again. Sleep was for the weak or for the ones who could get some sleep behind the player station ;).)

[kmcclary]

Originally posted by ChewyMasterFlex
And yet we haven't gotten out of the design phase...are we screwed or what?:] Hoo boy... Not yet, but you will be REAL soon if you don't start building SOMETHING.

Regardless of what your final "payload" is, my advice is to get your MULE going immediately.

Whenever in doubt, make the generic "skateboard" for a mule: Create a "box frame" 28" x 34" x 6-8" inches deep. This gives you an inch clearance all the way around for screw heads, etc., and plenty of volume inside for drivetrain motors, battery, and electronics. Use the provided materials, angle iron, box extrusion, or whatever. Stick a board in the bottom. Just get it MADE. (If you're planning on using the air pump, you may need an extra inch or two of height, or notch the board out.)

Put the provided drivetrain assemblies in the back, and casters in the front. Rules allow ANY wheels this year. If you don't like the provided wheels go to any hardware store or lawnmower supply, check out their wagon and lawnmower wheels, and while there pick up some sprockets, chain, and some master links for your desired final gear ratio. If necessary, a Dremel with a cutting disk works fine as a chain breaker. Just make sure you have enough ground clearance to crest the top of the ramp without hanging up on the upper lip, and you've got a mule that'll go ANYWHERE on this field.

With a board across the top (and access holes for battery, et al), you now have a basic drive chassis with a pristine flat surface to mount any old payload you wish, and billboards for sides. Note: If you don't want to use boards, you may need to add corner braces for frame stiffness. The gumball can be mounted somewhere on top later once you know where your payload will live.

This should take you two days at most to make, and will get you back on track.

Good luck!

- Keith

[Mimi Brown]

nd yet we haven't gotten out of the design phase...are we screwed or what? Ths happned to us last year...it is a bad bad BAD situation to be in. One thing u can do is, on the weekend, sit down with the team and hash out your design. Dont let anyone leave until you are done, and consider that day your freeze date for modifying design.


Our team works every day the first week, then monday, thursday, saturday for two weeks, and then extended schedule (read--all free time) for the rest of the time.

But, i think the main question here should be how much pop/caffeine u consume, not how much time u spend building:D

[Redhead Jokes]

Originally posted by ChewyMasterFlex
And yet we haven't gotten out of the design phase...are we screwed or what?:]

That was part of the reason we had a very bad year last year. This year we had a design done in a very timely manner.

[ngreen]

We've been meeting 7 days a week
weekday our meeting begins at 5:45, we get lasanga today! and end at 10. Last Saturday the team( I was gone for SAT II's and a basketball tournament) began selling our raffle tickets at Kansas Day celebrations at 8 and were still working when I got back from my game at 8, and we worked for another 3 hours.
Sunday we meet when we can, we met from 10-3 last sunday, robotics is my religion, because of the superbowl. The time has paid off mostly, we are working of where to mount the pneumatic cyclinders on are working drivetrain. Once that is figured out we will be very near to test time.

[Katie Reynolds]

Wait ... are you counting the hours each individual puts into one week, or how many hours your team works in one week?

Our (original) team schedule:

Monday - Friday 3:30 - 9:00
Saturday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday off

Our team schedule (4 weeks into the build)

Monday - Friday 3:30 - 10:00
Saturday 8:00 am - 10:00/11:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Heh.

Anyway, the number of hours each contributing individual puts in is well over thirty hours. Our team puts in close to 500 man hours a week.

- Katie

[Macdaddy549]

WE'RE BETTER THIS YEAR. WE WORK FROM 6-9 TUESDAY AND THURSDAY AND 9-3 ON SATURDAY. WE MAKE THIS AS PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE. WHY YOU ASK? BECAUSE IN THE PAST WE WERE HERE EVERYDAY AFTER SCHOOL TILL 9 PM TAKING ONE STEP FORWARD AND 3 BACK. NOW WE WE HAVE A TEAM THAT JUST WORKS ON THE DRIVE TRAIN, ONE THAT WORKS ON ELECTRONICS, ONE PROGRAMMING, AND TWO OTHER TEAMS THAT DO THERE STUFF. OUR MACHINE SHOP STUDENTS DO A LOT OF BUILDING DURING THE DAY FOR US. THE'RE A GREAT ASSET TO US!!! I'VE FOUND THAT IF I HOLD EVERYONE TO THESE TEAMS, EVERTHING MOVES MUCH SMOOTHER. TRY IT NEXT YEAR. I'M NOT STRESSED LIKE LAST YEAR WHEN WE NEVER SPLIT INTO TEAMS.

[Harrison]

Our main ppl work for the most part every day.

Monday to Friday we work from after school (3:00pm ish) until we all decide to go home (around 9:30-10:00pm at this stage).

Saturday, 9:00am until as late as 9:00pm.

Sunday, we usually take off, because we have homework from the entire week to do and catch up on.....plus we're mostly dead.

(ie right now, its 11:17pm, and I have been home for about an hour so far today)