Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

Well I am in the IB Art program at my highschool, and I have been doing as much Industrial Design as possible. For a project I thought I would ask what the CD community would like to see in a product. What is a problem that shows up during your season? What is something that could be either rethought or created that teams need or have a use for? Any ideas would be really helpful. so far i thought up:

• Custom Hex Wrench style tool with FRC specific sizing
• operator interface as a COT
• Lego pieces to allow for FRC scale prototyping

Please let me know if you have any ideas. I will post any concept sketches as well as models to this thread.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

an effective heat-sink for rs550 and Fischer price motors might be nice.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

A gearbox with compatibility for all motors and ratios.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

I feel like this gear box fufills this rather nicely: http://www.modulox.com/

The heatsink is a cool idea, maybe a line of heat sinks? For alll FRC motors. Im thinking a way to cool the window motors might be a good idea.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

I second this idea! I lost count of the number of FP motors our team burned out during the elims at North Star this year...

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

We would buy a bunch of these.

Bonus points if your heatsink also helps to protect the fragile electrical leads on these motors, as well.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

I designed a heat sink for the window motors in Solidworks. If anybody wants the CAD file for it, you can PM me. If you have access to a Waterjet, you can just cut several of them out of a piece of sheet metal and slip them on over the motor.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

MORE FOOD !! we always run out of food during the build season :(

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

Yay for Industrial Design. That's my major here at RIT in Rochester, NY.


One idea that I had that I have not yet got around to designing is a system for battery charging. Some searches around here and from other teams will get you some cool battery carts and battery charging stations, but I think there is definitely room for improvement. One of the key problems in my opinion is how to keep track of which batteries are fully charged and how to integrate existing battery chargers into a plug-in cart-like station. You could take into consideration, safety, battery spill clean up, small pit areas, transporting in to and from the event, how to get some of your batteries field side for elimination matches... and that's all I can think of right now but feel free to PM me or email me if you want any other suggestions or have other ideas to share.

For those of you who don't exactly know what industrial design is, I suggest you do a quick google search. I think of it as a combination of art and engineering with a lot of problem solving involved.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

That's what the plastic battery flags are for. I devised them many years ago for the TechnoKats to use, and we gave away hundreds of yellow ones bearing the Team 45 number. AndyMark now puts their own white version in the Kit of Parts. They are intended to be inserted into a battery connector when -- and only when -- you remove a fully charged battery from its charger. You're forced to remove the flag in order to plug a battery into a robot, so you can't forget to mark a battery as used.

Some safety advisors have the mistaken idea that they are "safety plugs" and try to insist that every battery always has one inserted, but that's not how they're supposed to be used.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

Problem:
Careless team members often put the wrong size/type of hardware in our labeled drawers. It can get a bit frustrating when one is expecting to find a 1 1/2" hexhead bolt and finds practically everything but that in the drawer.
Product:
A dynamic, compartmentalized system that can hold quantities of hardware of varying sizes and types.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

I love those things! I got several red plastic flags from the TechnoKats at the D.C. Regional last year. Using those in conjunction with AndyMark's white ones, we have a system to put the red flags on batteries after a match so we know it needs to be charged, and then put the white flags in the plugs after the batteries are fully charged. This, as you mentioned, also keeps the Safety Judges happy with a flag in every plug.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

We use the red ones as "lockout" indicators. We'll plug one into the robot connector if there's a good reason to keep power from being applied. They also go on batteries that we suspect have a problem and shouldn't be used until someone has checked them out.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

Ratcheting T-handle allen wrench set with interchangeable hex keys? :D

A modular system of shelving that permits quick access to standard size parts storage containers without having to unstack the totes sitting on top of the one you really want. One that permits a team to integrate them into their pit in a variety of configurations (8 high x 1 wide, 4 high x 2 wide, etc.)

I second the request for a compact, portable, six-slot battery charging station design that utilizes current kit chargers and can be built with commonly-obtainable materials or old KOP stuff that hardly anyone ever uses. Put a leadscrew on it! Recycle those old 2009 rover wheels.

Re: Problems That Arise and Things You Want
 

Would removing the existing sheath on the Fisher Price void it as a legal motor? Removing it would seem to simplify the design of a heat sink for the motor.