Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

We love this driver station. How'd you do the sheet metal fabrication and bending?

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

We had our sponsor Vander-Bend Manufacturing do it for us on their laser cutter and press brakes. They've done a few things for us this season, and we're hoping to involve them even more next year. I can give you the contact info of the person we've been communicating with if you'd like (feel free to mention my name and GRT). I believe 846 has them as a sponsor too, so I'm sure they'd be happy to help you guys out with anything.

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

Are there handles on that thing? Love the design and the fact that it has its own "belly pan".

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

Those slots in the middle, on either side of the computer can be used as handles, but I generally just held on to either side as if it were a big piece of plywood. It wasn't the best or most comfortable driver station to carry, but I'm sure with a couple improvements it could be quite a bit better. Slightly wider slots and a rubber gasket of sorts to protect knuckles would likely help.

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

What ever you do don't make the box more than 12". Many have mentioned the 44" constraint but we had an issue with an inspector at buckeye. He measured our drivers station and found that it was 1/8" over 12" and told use he would not pass our robot till this was corrected. His issue was that our drivers station was supposed to fit on the 12" shelf and not hang over. We tried to explain to him that once you plug in the comms cable and charge cable that these cables would make the drivers station hang over the shelf anyway. At that point he said I am just telling you what the rule in the manual states. Luckily for us the box was made out of wood so we were able to cut down one side of the box and pass inspection but the box was no longer the pretty box that was built during build season. This was the first time in my history of FRC that I had the box measured as part of the inspection of the robot. I also never saw that on the check list but maybe I missed it. We had the inspector sign the piece of wood so we could hang it on our wall of shame as a lesson learned. It also makes for a great story to tell freshmen about accurate measuring and leaving a tolerance for error.

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

The 44” x 12” limit is the second item under the Operator Console section of the 2012 inspection checklist. I don't remember the equivalent of <R82> in previous years, except for a reminder to make sure everything will fit on the provided shelf.

I will admit to not strictly enforcing that rule this year. I can't see how it would be a competitive advantage to extend even a couple of inches past the front of the shelf. If the console wasn't obviously deeper than the length of my clipboard, I usually didn't bother taking the time to measure it (though I did verify the width on a couple of unusually wide ones).

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

Actually it wasn't bad. The ones on the far right are supposed to be emergency buttons. One is to cut the power if the shooter starts acting up, and the other is a manual override for the automatic sliders (the pawn-like pieces).

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

Thanks! That'd be great if I could get their info. We've been looking for some new sponsors to give us a little more manufacturing resources.

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

4 keys to a driver station are usability, security, portability, and handling. For virtually every year in existence, 422 has operated under a tank drive, so we have 2 KOP joysticks bolted into 1/16" polycarbonate on a 12 by 21 inch rectangle. Attached by a hinge, we have the laptop and the OI/Joystick 3 (this year we had joystick 3) on the right half. When the driver station is folded in half, it can be held by handles or hoisted under one's arm rather nicely. It is also far lighter than our previous diamond plate metal and wooden stations. It can be rested on top of our robot for tethering, and can be stored with an incredibly small footprint.

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

i saw some pictures online, i would love to check out some CAD designs if you could put those up?

Re: DRIVER STATION DESIGNS
 

Sorry to bring this back up, but someone messaged me saying the links are dead and I can't edit the post, so here they are again.

http://imgur.com/a/xfkDh