robot complete
 

http://www.payouthcouncil.com/ProjectW/foambot.jpg

Come check out G-Force 2002. It has a few kinks to work out, but it sure it close.
Time of Completion: 9.25pm pst Tuesday, January 8
Weight: 22 lbs
Materials: Foamed Aluminum

is there something wrong with those urls? They didn't work for me

For those of you that are wondering, the links are missing a 0. It should be:

http://www.geocities.com/torchin2000/foambot.bmp

and

http://www.geocities.com/torchin2000/foambot2.bmp

Though now it says the page is unavailable for viewing.

:-((((
 

Yea man our robot is going to woop some serious butt. You think we should add anything or just ship it now like that!

You can see the pics ...
 

Clone Wars
 

Wouldn't it be great to see a field of 500 robots exactly like this one? How exciting it would be.

Maybe we should hold off on posting pictures of our robots until the design stage is mostly completed, so that the variety that is the spice of FIRST can be enjoyed this year as it has been enjoyed in the past.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't see the pictures :(

Nice design.

Could you please tell me how you guys built an entire robot in a matter of about 3 days cause thats like amazing.

yeah.....
 

i hate to be a pain, but it seems quite impossible to do that in 4 days, well i guess intimidation is a part of your strategy :)
besides, i find a few interesting things in that picture:
1 - how do you get the ball up there ?
2 - it seems to me that you have the most vital componet on the outside: the reciever
3 - the reciever has no cables connected to it
4 - looks like that is the reciever with the display screen, and i believe that the reciever with the display screen is the one in teh station....noton the robot

well , thats all :)
i wish you guys good luck, on actaully building a robot

P.S. we know what we're doing, do you ?

Martin
907

It looks like a foam prototype.

Re: yeah.....
 

Martin:

I feel I should answer your questions in a frank and honest manner.

1) The ball aquisition device is on the opposite side. There's a reason that picture is taken from the side it is, so as not to give away any truly useful information. You can design that component yourself, or try to guess what ours looks like. There are still some secret aspects of this robot.

2) That is acutally a matter of some contention among our team members. The electronics are mounted internally. We are deciding whether or not to mount them externally. Putting them on the inside protects them better, but makes maintainence more time-consuming. Any advice?

3) See question 2

4) See question 2

Quick-disconnect lid...
 

If you want your electronics to be safe but easy to get at, put it on rods with seats for it and springpins to keep it in place. I'll draw a pic of what I mean. It's easy and probably won't fall apart easily. It's similar in concept to the retainer for the top on a brake master cylinder resivoir. For those of you that are less automotively inclined than myself, that's where you pour brake fluid into.

Image note: The top of the rod is notched to accept the swing arm. The arm runs the entire length of the top, and it is basically an open rectangle made from spring steel rod.

AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHH

SOMEONE STOLE YOUR WHEELS!!!


LOL, really...make a ful robot befreo showing it off...nice proto though...but ours will most likely set back any scoring you do...

Something to think about

And maybe by that time i'll learn how to spell..

LOL

Suggestion...
 

Construct in higher quality materials to get rid of that sag your bot has.

Maybe thats just thier bumper...just made into a robot type shape to throw people off...

just kidding...that seems like a good design

Actually this looks a lot like my team's robot from last year.

http://www.startateam.com/639/pics/f...pe%20robot.jpg

Ours was made of higher quality materials though. AND OURS HAS WHEELS! :)

If you guys think that is your final design and you have only spent 3 days on it.... well I would be prepared. If you have done it this way you have probably thought your strategy out completly. Maybe make sure you have backup plans... just in case. Also make sure your robot can compare to your competition so you arent just a metal think moving around the field but being controlled by every other robot.

Well how bout this bad bot...it actually moves!!!
lol

it is our bot proto from last year for those who are wonderin

well
 

I don't know, its still mighty fast...we have less than 20 people on our team, and we are only in the planning....how many people do you have ???


Martin
907

team size
 

Martin-
We have 45 students and 5 adult mentors, all working on the project.

*SIGH*
It's foam it is not real, there is no light in the the plastic light cover there are no wheels. The frame is bent like foam would bend. It's a hoax!(or else everyone is reading it wrong). It's a good start though.

If your actual robot ends up looking exactly like the foam copy, then it would be so awesome!:)

Yes, like Patrik said, Gunn's robot is a PROTOTYPE (i.e. it is not their final robot, nor is it exactly what it will look like)! There are always kinks to work out and I'm sure (considering how well they have played and performed in the past) that that Gunn is's members are not digging themselves into a hole that they can't get out of by already having their basic design.

Also, in response to some of the people who have been asking how long it is taking some of the other teams to plan out the robot, our team, who is a second year team, is still in the initial design phase. We are, hopefully, making our final decisions on the design of the robot (and the strategy inherent in the design) this Friday (1/11). Many teams probably take longer, and some, like Gunn, do not take as long. It all depends on your team and how you function. One thing which we learned last year was not to spend to much time designing and to not limit ourselves by not talking to other teams. In other words, find a design process which works for your team and go for it. Also, DO NOT SHUT YOURSELVES IN! Discuss with other teams and ask questions, but don't reveal all of your secrets ;-).

Are you sure it's foam? :) Is it a new type of foam that for some reason does not look like real foam when its picture is taken and then uploaded on the internet? If it is, where can I get some?

foam can be painted :)

we are done
 

although not as quik as the other teams
we have finished hard prototyping and have sent parts out to be machined
not bad compared to the last two years when we did not have a viable platform unitl the middleof week four

either my kids are getting better at this and understand the process or the brand spanking new Mech Engineering program I startied is really starting to pay off

nahhhhh its the kids

dahl
team leader 497
already exhausted and miss my dogs

Wait so you are saying???
 

That you guys don't machine the robot your selves but have it done for you??? I am very disappointed (that would be an easy word)

Re: team size
 

I thought there was a 36 students limit? Because that was what I was told cause we had to turn about 10 people away because of this "limit".

Re: Re: team size
 

I'm not sure where you heard that, but there is no limit on the size of the teams. I've heard of teams that near 80 or 90 members. I'm sorry for the members you had to turn down, but you could release a notice that you're allowed more members. That number was actually somewhat out of date, we in fact have 54 student members. Whomever told you that, I'd certainly let them know. There is no team size limit, nor has their ever been.

Foamed Aluminum - Description
 

Hey Everyone!

A lot of people have been commenting on the foam material we use for our robot. I've decided I'd post a bit of information about the material, so that those teams who can find a way to aquire it may benefit from our research.



This article appeared in the Special Interest Section of "Nonferrous Processing"

Aluminum foams with high, controlled levels of closed-cell porosity are an emerging class of engineering materials. They offer significant potential for applications requiring weight savings, high stiffness-to-weight ratios, energy absorption from impact, crash and explosive blasts, vibration damping, sound absorption, fire resistance, and thermal insulating properties. This article describes briefly the technology involved with forming these panels.

- Metal foams (Fig. 1) are produced by compacting a powder mixture of metal and foaming agent to high density and then heating the compacted foam percursor material to a temperature near the metal melting point. Gas bubbles create voids within the expanding body of semisolid metal and are retained during solidification, resulting in a lightweight structure with a high degree of porosity (a range of 50 to 90 vol %).
Originally developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Materials Research (IFAM), the metal foam products (U.S. Patent 5,151,246; 1992) can be produced in several different configurations:

-Complex 3-D foam parts can be molded to net-shape. The preform is placed inside the cavity of a forming tool. The mold is then heated to near the melting point and the part expands to fill the entire mold cavity resulting in a 3-D shape. A skin of dense aluminum forms on the outer surface of the part and aids in joining the foams to other materials.

- Sandwich panels of aluminum foam cores inside metal face sheets can also be produced. Panels up to about 3 feet x 5 feet x 0.5 inch thick have been produced for prototype vehicles. They have shown the high specific-stiffness and weight reduction advantages of aluminum foam sandwich panels in convertible body structures. These panels are formed by roll cladding aluminum face sheets onto an extruded billet of foam precursor. The resulting sheet is heated to activate the foaming agent. This results in expansion of the foam core thickness by about 400%, yielding 80 vol % porosity. Sandwich panels having complex, contoured surfaces are produced by press-forming the semi-finished panel into the desired shape before the foaming step.

- Metal tubes filled with aluminum foam have also been produced. These tubes were fabricated by inserting powder preforms of foam precursors into the tubes and heating then to initiate the foaming reaction, thus filling the inside of the tubes with foam. The aluminum foams can be metallurgically bonded to the inner surface of the tubes, providing an excellent interfacial bond.


The Process
The metal foaming process is a powder metallurgical process in which commercial powders are mixed with small quantities of a powdered foaming agent via conventional techniques (Fig. 2). The mixture is compacted to a semi-finished product of low-porosity (90 - 95% dense) by applying compaction techniques such as extrusion. Provided the process parameters have been chosen appropriately, the result of the compaction process is a foamable, semi-finished product that can be worked into sheets, profiles, etc., by applying conventional deformation techniques. During the final heat treatment at temperatures near the melting point of the corresponding alloy, the materials expands and develops its highly porous, closed-cell structure. In addition, to aluminum and its alloys, other metals such as steel, copper, zinc and lead can also be formed.

Properties
The density of aluminum foams typically ranges from 0.5 to 1 gram/cc, but lower densities can also be achieved. Due to its closed porosity, aluminum foam floats in water. The strength and other properties of foamed materials can be tailored by adjusting the following parameters:

-specific weight
-alloy composition
-heat treatment

morphology of pores
Due to their porous structures, foams have high specific stiffness. Electrical and thermal conductivities of metal foams are considerably reduced, but still in the typical range of metallic materials. Aluminum foams have good mechanical damping and sound insulation properties. Metal foams provide excellent energy absorption features at a higher strength level as compared to foamed polymers and the wide range of service temperature and the non-flammability of the materials are important advantages. Finally, the recycling ability of the foamed metals is an important factor. Metal foams are easily processed by sawing, drilling, milling, etc., and can be joined by adhesive bonding, brazing, and TIG and laser welding techniques.

Applications
Aluminum metal foams are being applied in various automotive applications including firewalls and kick-up panels, floor panels, energy absorbing bumpers, door side-impact bars, front crash rails, space frame components and roll bars. While production costs are about 20% higher than conventional aluminum or steel auto panels, the powder product is more than ten times stiffer at half the weight. Railroad applications include locomotive collision posts and crash cages, crush buffer zones and side impact barriers on rail passenger cars.

The foam panels are also applicable in military systems such as lightweight armor for army trucks and personnel carriers, mine blast containment and water-tight doors on ships. IH

For further information on aluminum foam materials, contact Dr. Dennis Claar, Technical Director, Fraunhofer USA, Center for Manufacturing and Advanced Materials Delaware, 501 Wyoming Rd., Newark, DE 19716. Phone: 302. 369.6721; fax: 302.369.6763; or email: dclaar@fraunhofer.org.

Hope this peaks your interest, everyone!

Machined Parts
 

This is in response to what Dima said. How can you be disappointed that they are sending their parts out to be machined? Our school, too, has to have some of our parts machined (albeit, not all of them) simply because we do not have the facilities necessary to machine them. I am sure that this situation is reflective of many teams out there.

Re: Machined Parts
 

Dima, turbidum's got an excellent point. Not every school can get their hands on mills, lathes, presses, and the like. To be quite honest, we too have on occasion gotten our parts machined other places. Our good buddies at Alan Steel & Supply punched us some big fat steel circles last year, because they needed to be perfectly round and for us to do that was simply not worth the time commitment. I could understand your frustration if they siad "We sent our ideas off to the people at the <<Insert Major Sponsor's Name Here>> Manufactiuring and Design Labs", but they designed it and they're going to test and build it, I hope. Can you really fault a team for not having the resources we do? It might not be fair, but neither would forcing them to build a robot with a hand-drill, a jig-saw, and a lot of sandpaper. Just because its not how WE do things, it doesn't make it unfair or dissappointing. If you're really upset, look to the teams who only have engineers working on the robots in the pits, not the ones who don't have the machine shop they need and must send out (and pay more) to have their parts made.

*steps down off of soap-box*

Night everyone, its sleepy-time (check that time stamp)

Mounting electronics
 

If you mount your electronics internally be sure everything, including the wiring, is accessible for the inspection process. Those inspectors are SO picky....
(PS thanks for the great idea!!! We're also building a foam hovercraft type robot... we can't push any goals but we're hoping everyone will be so amazed they'll forget to drive their robots... DIABOLICAL!)