Crazy Crates

[R.C.]

Hey guys,

I was looking back through the picture of crates that we took at nationals and at various comps. I was wondering if everyone could post their crates and how to integrate one into the pit.

[AndyB]

Basically, our crate is split into two halves, the top and bottom.

We take the top walls off and put them inside the bottom half. Then take the cieling of the crate and place it on top of the now, half crate. The crate acts as a work bench and we put coats and stuff inside along with the top half walls.

In the pit: http://www.wintechpc.com/matt/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=47

[whitetiger0990]

Here's our pit and crate combination =) I wasn't part of the design. It might be magic.

http://gpgearheads.org/gallery/albums/album14/9892_G.sized.jpg

[Lowfategg]

Here's our pit and crate combination =) I wasn't part of the design. It might be magic.

http://gpgearheads.org/gallery/albums/album14/9892_G.sized.jpg

Now thats smart!

[Dick Linn]

Josh,

Judging from that professional setup, I can only guess that your team needs none of that stuff, and you only brought all those parts and tools to help other teams fix their robots, right? :D

Or do you disassemble your robot each evening and put it back in the storage containers? I can't see where a robot would fit in that "crate".

[m3ch4num470r]

Team 449 built a new crate last year (our old one was falling apart).
At competition, it splits in two to give pegboard space. We have separate rolling cabinets for extra parts that we put the crate on top of.
http://static.flickr.com/2037/2377971869_0d7c0a7669.jpg
Best pic I could find, sry. The crate is way in the back.

[Triple B]

1592 has a really cool crate, hopefully they will post a pic.
mike d

[efoote868]

868 has been using the same crate for quite some time now, and I doubt they've used a different one, now that I think about it.

It looks pretty sharp, made out of aluminum and some sort of plastic, and its black. It contrasts sharply with all the wooden ones. The other thing about it is that we actually use it in the pit, for storage space, to put up our decorations, etc.

heres (http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d120/eyeseesall/P4170172.jpg) a link to it.

If I find a better picture, I'll upload it and edit this.

[Alex Cormier]

Here's our pit and crate combination =) I wasn't part of the design. It might be magic.

http://gpgearheads.org/gallery/albums/album14/9892_G.sized.jpg

So... why is the robot gone and the coach sitting there? Shouldn't he be on the field with the robot? :p

[Doctorwho]

Team 1986 made a Weighted Companion Cube Crate for their robot

[R.C.]

Team 1986 made a Weighted Companion Cube Crate for their robot

pics???

[Pat Major]

494s shipping crate/workshop. Clamshell design hinged with large piano hinge in center. Cabinet on left side, floor space on left and right side combine for 30 inches to accommodate robot. Workbench on right slides in and out, secured with removable pins.6790

[joeweber]

We used 1 x 12 boards attached to a 4x4x ½ plywood two make one half and the other half is identical and when put together they form a box for the robot. The skids are 1x6x4ft boards that when they are removed are used as shelves in the box halves. When set up in the pits we had plenty of space for everything. Last year we had to add a 1x8 board around the middle for the larger robot.
A drawing is at http://www.team1322.org/other_tipps.htm
or a picture http://team1322.org/2008shipped.jpg

[Karibou]

Awww, Josh beat me to posting the picture :ahh:

Josh,

Judging from that professional setup, I can only guess that your team needs none of that stuff, and you only brought all those parts and tools to help other teams fix their robots, right? :D

Or do you disassemble your robot each evening and put it back in the storage containers? I can't see where a robot would fit in that "crate".
The boxes aren't shipped with the crate; we bring them up with us via car. (I'm so glad that I made pit crew; it meant that I didn't have to haul those things down to the pits) The robot actually only takes up about half of the crate. The shelves that the boxes are currently sitting on are actually what sections the bot off from a few of the other things that we put in the crate, such as the OI and the bolts that we use to set up the pit. They "snap" in to form a set of sliding doors.


You would be surprised how much of that stuff we ended up using, too...lots of improv happened there... ;)

[tim_reiher]

Our Crate is shown. It basically makes up our Pit when taken apart-the orange table on the left, and the blue table on the right are from the crate, and more is not seen in this picture. That way, we instantly have a pit structure upon traveling to regionals.

[Doctorwho]

pics???

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img/400/40009fb158ec715a2bfb9bbef7cc9371_l.jpg


In the event that the weighted companion crate does speak it's a sign that you have gone too long without sleep in the build season.

[hipsterjr]

I have always thought that team 233 (the pink team) had a cool crate/pit design. They have been using it for years and it defiantly seems to work for them.
( sorry, couldn't find a pic)

[R.C.]

I have always thought that team 233 (the pink team) had a cool crate/pit design. They have been using it for years and it defiantly seems to work for them.
( sorry, couldn't find a pic)

Yes they do, i stopped by during nationals and did anyone make a diamond plated aluminum crate?

[Katie_UPS]

Yes they do, i stopped by during nationals and did anyone make a diamond plated aluminum crate?

I think team 1714 has one of those...

[=Martin=Taylor=]

FRC 522 (The RoboWizards) Have a diamond plated crate. (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/23318)

Team 386 has probably the most sexy crate I have ever seen. It looks like it was professionally made out of sheet metal and powder coated yellow.

srsly, couldn't find any pics :(

[yodameister]

hmmmm....how about a Lexan crate. Customs should have no problems :D

[RyanS]

294's newer crate

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/32994

It worked out very well in LA and Vegas.

[jspatz1]

Team 1986 made a Weighted Companion Cube Crate for their robot

pics???
Here's is a better pic of our Weighted Companion Crate sitting in Atlanta. Yes, we use the crate to create our pit structure. Two adjacent sides and the bottom stay together and become the rear corner of the pit. The two remaining sides attach to and extend those 2 sides, creating a solid wall at the rear and one side. Shelves are applied to these walls.

[Andrew386]

I realize this is a couple years late, but maybe Martin is still around. This is actually my first year with 386 and I have to agree, our crate is awesome. It's made by EDAK, a local company that specializes in rugged aluminum cases. They're a wonderful sponsor of ours, and can obviously do miracles with aluminum. Here's a pic I took with my phone as we were packing up this year at the Florida regional:
http://www.falendysz.com/andrew/public/TeamVoltage/crate_sm.jpg

[efoote868]

That crate looks like it weighs 400 lbs? Is there any weight left over for your robot? :]

[Andrew386]

That crate looks like it weighs 400 lbs? Is there any weight left over for your robot? :]

Nah, it's not as heavy as it looks. It's aluminum, not steel. We don't fill it with a whole lot of tools (though there are a couple separate compartments we can use for storing things), so really there's not much in there other than the robot. I don't know any of the shipping details, but I do know that we didn't have an "overweight" sticker. I would imagine we're close, though. ;)

[Tytus Gerrish]

Somone please post a picture of 179's and 233's crates. its like seeing the same design in both wood and aluminum and super bright colors

[AmoryG]

That crate looks like it weighs 400 lbs? Is there any weight left over for your robot? :]

According to wikianswers, the average refrigerator weighs 400 lbs. :)