Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

Hmmm...

To test if your power cord in in correctly, tug on it, not being able to get it out, then assure your team that the cord won't come out. Then, do not push it back in or zip-tie it, so basically loosen it.

It will come out during hybrid period.

=D

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

create a competition port box on your controls so that you can enable/disable for testing and practice, leave the "auto mode" switch on, and enable robot on cart with no blocks to charge pneumatics. Then, watch as your robot zooms off the cart in front of you and into a people barrier. Frantically look for someone other than yourself to blame for leaving the switch thrown even though you are the driver. :D :yikes:

Oh and do this before a quarterfinal match at FLR lol.

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

Any action following the phrase:

"Hey! Watch this!"

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

Step 1) Let someone put washers on a vital Supershifter part that isn't supposed to have any washers.
Step 2) Drive robot for 5 weeks.
Step 3) Arrive at regional event.

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

Snip a random Zip-tie.

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

chew on pwm cables...

have a non electrical person try to set up a new spike or victor

say "the robot doesnt need this..."

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

have a non electrical guy wire the battery, turn the robot on, and watch all the fuses blow...red-red, black-black not black-red


Let a nonprogrammer program robot, watch it get g22's during hybrid


Try to use an untested hybrid code


Edit:

And my personal ouchy

Stick a pwm prong all the way through your hand while being inspected

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

Hey they left it with me for four days, and it came back with a fully functional drive train and front loader.

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

This is from my 2003 season when I was still in High school, two almost crippled us, one did:

1. Electronics broad is designed in many pieces with the speed controllers in the middle of the robot. You and a friend see the pwm came out of a speed controller. You try to reach it with your hand only to find your hand completely blocks your view and you cannot twist your hand enough to push the pwm back in. You need help; your friend sticks his hands in to hold the speed controller still and help push the pwm in. However, he can't see his hands but you can and vice versa. So directing each other, each take turns pushing the pwm while the other holds it so that the pwm is not let go and pop out. After, many tries and a lot of cursing at each other, it finally goes in. then a triumphant high-five and a quick grab for some super glue to prevent this from breaking the robot for sure in a match.
2. Showing up back to pits after the last elimination match when a team mate says the CIM motor burned out. Everyone says not to worry, the team will not be picked. So the rest of the team goes grab food, you clean up the pits. About thirty minutes later, the team representative comes bursting into the pit exclaiming that team has been picked and runs off to tell the others. Then the rest of the alliance comes lead by the head mentor Grant Imahara (pre-mythbusters too:) ) comes to tell you that the robot needs to be on the field in thirty minutes. Suddenly, realizing you have a burnt out motor, you tell the bad news, to the alliance, and try to call the team mates but they won't pick up. Quickly a plan is developed to extract the motor. After about 5 minutes of panic by everyone in the pit, Grant asks if anyone actually used a voltmeter to check the problem. You realize that no one has (the voltmeter has been rarely used, if ever). 5 minutes later the problem was found to be a loose wire that needs to be reconnected. Everything now works, crises averted.
3. Collision in semifinal knocks battery out of robot.

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

no, no. THAT is the surefire way to FIX the robot. :P

-Vivek

EDIT: Rookies on pit crew for 2264, I am kidding... :yikes:

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

saying the words "should" and "work" in the same sentence...

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

Run an untested hybrid mode without an ultrasonic obstacle detector.

Code the "disable autonomous" switch such that an open circuit defaults to autonomous ON.

Download new program with the autonomous switch on the competition dongle in the ON position.

Put down disable switch because you know that no matter what the robot does, it has to go left, which leads to an open area. Realize that a PWM cable is disconnected as the robot goes right. Discover the power of four CIM motors as the robot pushes another robot, two PCs, a desk, and two chairs five feet into the doorway.

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

1. Belittle programmers (we can make driving a living hell)
2. Come to us electricians telling us that a tight wire came out of it's connector, Din, or Maxi-style fuse box.
3. Rush us, lets see you robot run if we've torn out your parts

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

1)try and show off your week 6 robot (just days before ship date) to your school at the valintines day assembly
2) while attempting 1. have the programmer control the arm (not the arm operator)
3) remind him that the claw is only ziptied on, and that under no situtation do you try and raise the arm while it is holding the ball, he can scoop up the ball, and he can rasie the arm without the ball, but CANNOT raise the arm with the ball.
4) watch him raise the arm with the ball, shaking head while hearing zipties snapping...
5) watch claw fall off in from of 1000+ students...

Re: surefire ways to break you robot
 

I can't believe no one has mentioned this one yet.

Use an unpatched 2007 radio.

Holy cow those things were a deathtrap looking for a place to happen... Our robot attacked various objects around the shop with all the random packet loss, and the code that somehow failed to disable robot outputs when radio data was lost. Robots running at full tilt towards walls, people, tools, etc is just bad.