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View Full Version : Just A Small Reminder...

synth3tk
24-01-2008, 22:43
It's awesome to see teams finally getting a rolling chassis completed! Very inspiring to those of us who are still putting a few nuts and bolts together. As I see YouTube or other streaming videos popping up every which way, I notice many are driving on tiles, or a similar type of flooring. While watching it roll that fast is great, don't be fooled. I understand some of you may already befriended this nice tidbit of advice, but...

:ahh: [MAKE SURE YOU TEST ON CARPET!!!] :ahh:

You may be thinking, "dave, u r krazzy!! ever1 tsets on carpet!!!1!" Take it from someone with a little bad experience, we made that mistake last year. Arrived at regionals only to find that it wouldn't even budge a foot on carpet. Thanks to Delphi Elite (I think it was, one of the Delphi's) the zip tie solution came to play. Point is, find a nice carpeted room that is roughly the same make as an arena floor. If not, you can buy a nice sized chunk of it from the official supplier.

So now you're pondering how to obtain some of this "über-1337" material.

FIRST gets the carpet used at the competitions from a company called S+S Mills. To order carpet from them, call 800-241-4013 and ask for Debbie Collins. Please mention "Gary Ulbin" when you call so that she can associate you with FIRST.


Happy building, and good luck to all teams.


David Thomas,
Bedford Robotics
vivek16
24-01-2008, 22:56
yikes, that stuffs has gots to be expensive. Luckily, we have an interior design store next to us so we might be able to leech some similiar stuff from them :rolleyes:

good luck!, Vivek
Koko Ed
24-01-2008, 23:01
It's awesome to see teams finally getting a rolling chassis completed! Very inspiring to those of us who are still putting a few nuts and bolts together. As I see YouTube or other streaming videos popping up every which way, I notice many are driving on tiles, or a similar type of flooring. While watching it roll that fast is great, don't be fooled. I understand some of you may already befriended this nice tidbit of advice, but...

:ahh: [MAKE SURE YOU TEST ON CARPET!!!] :ahh:

You may be thinking, "dave, u r krazzy!! ever1 tsets on carpet!!!1!" Take it from someone with a little bad experience, we made that mistake last year. Arrived at regionals only to find that it wouldn't even budge a foot on carpet. Thanks to Delphi Elite (I think it was, one of the Delphi's) the zip tie solution came to play. Point is, find a nice carpeted room that is roughly the same make as an arena floor. If not, you can buy a nice sized chunk of it from the official supplier.

So now you're pondering how to obtain some of this "über-1337" material.


Happy building, and good luck to all teams.


David Thomas,
Bedford Robotics
We have carpet (Newton 2004 I believe). The gray is kind of bleh but it's a shop not a five star hotel so it serves us well.
BHS_STopping
24-01-2008, 23:01
If you're looking into getting a good sample of this carpet, you can wait after a regional event when the field is being disassembled. Last year, our team picked up a good chunk of the carpet for free! :)
Laaba 80
24-01-2008, 23:24
They do this at most regionals. After the competition, the carpet gets ripped up so they dont want it anymore. They also will not need to worry about moving it because that carpet is REALLY heavy.
Joey
EricH
25-01-2008, 01:41
For the Southern California teams who need carpet to practice on:
Oh and by the way, the BeachBot practice field (funded by SCRRF) is open to anybody that wants to use it from 10-4:30 on Saturdays and other times by appointment. Details are in the newsletter sent out by the Regional Committee chair, Nancy McIntyre. There's a lot of carpet there...
ChrisH
25-01-2008, 09:06
yikes, that stuffs has gots to be expensive. Luckily, we have an interior design store next to us so we might be able to leech some similiar stuff from them :rolleyes:

good luck!, Vivek

Actually, if you contact the mill directly and identify yourself as a FIRST team they will probably give you a decent deal. Last fall I got a quote for less than any other floor covering out there from them. They beat blue plastic tarp on a square foot basis! They actually have a non-profit rate they charge qualifying organizations.
Josh Drake
25-01-2008, 12:14
We had a similar problem last year. The robot drove fine on the tile floor of the school. We placed it on carpet the night before a scrimmage, and we stripped out some bolts on the drive wheels. Needless to say, it was a late night. We did make the scrimmage.
Wetzel
25-01-2008, 12:15
If you're looking into getting a good sample of this carpet, you can wait after a regional event when the field is being disassembled. Last year, our team picked up a good chunk of the carpet for free! :)

If you want to do this, don't wait! Contact your local senior mentor or regional director. There are many teams at every regional but only 2 pieces of carpet.

Also plan ahead, because these are huge and heavy pieces of carpet.

Wetzel