[Kims Robot]

I think some of the ideas here are good... though I would highly advise against any kind of striking tactic... it hurts both you and him and may put even more distance between the team. Talking to the administration can be good, but depending on the situation, sometimes they can move slow, and even if they attempt to resolve it in a week's time, even more time is lost for you.

What I would recommend is find one of your committed mentors and one or two of your lead students and go see the teacher. Depending on what you think might be best, you may want to pick one person to approach him one on one, or you can go as a group if you think he won't feel threatened.

Now by what you said, I am assuming the team has probably already gotten into arguments with him, they have probably told him how unreasonable he is being and pushed back... and I'm guessing this hasn't worked.

What I would suggest is approach it from a different angle. Have this person or people LISTEN to him. Ask him (only if you can do it non-confrontationally) why he has come up with the changes/suggestions he has. There may be all sorts of things at play that you do not know about. Maybe the administration is pushing him to have more success with the team. Maybe the sponsors have told him there isnt enough "engineering" going on. Maybe he is trying to prove to other tech teachers that he can do something. Maybe he got cited for having a dangerous shop. Maybe he really wants the team to win the Inventor award...

Do whatever you can to look at it from his perspective. Admittedly his tactics aren't working to help you all create the environment you want. Very few of us are calm and cool and perfect in stressful situations. It may be even harder for him if he has been forced to step back either for family, health, or whatever reasons. He is obviously taking things very seriously and is having issue with the team not doing things the way he is trying to get them to do it, and his actions seem to indicate that he feels like no one is Listening to him. He probably also feels that he has quite a lot of experience, and that the team should respect that and know that he has knowledge that is causing him to make these decisions. Again, admittedly, he could probably be better at communicating that, but not many of us are master communicators.

So figure out what his motives are. Figure out why he wants things the way he does. But try to do it by asking (non-threatening) questions and really really listening to his answers. Maybe some of his ideas could benefit the team, maybe there is some room for compromise. Maybe once you have really heard him, and he knows you have listened (try the technique of echoing back to him what you think you heard him say), maybe then he will let down his guard a bit and you can begin to understand and come to a plan that will work for everyone.

Small sidebar... the major points you mention... 1511 went through all of them. Our first year we had nothing in CAD really (except one gear box a sponsor designed for us). By the fourth year, while we did not have a ton of students who knew CAD, our entire robot was designed in CAD and was possibly one of the most attractive robots we made (not to mention it all was exactly the weight we predicted!!), and because we did it in CAD, everything went together in a single night right around the end of the 4th week. So just because you are working in CAD and do not have parts yet, doesn't necessarily mean you are behind. There is a lot to be said for not having to assemble and disassemble, redo, assemble again... etc. And on the clean shop thing, same again... 1511 was kind of a disaster our first year. We were given a woodshop that no one really used at that time of year, so everything was out all over the tables as everyone used the logic "well Im still working on that". That was the same year my own personal $500 makita drill was stolen from the shop. Now 1511 puts absolutely everything away into cabinets or closets, tools get put back in the tool chest, and rooms are exactly as they were found. Its painful at first go to through these transitions, but trust me, 1511 is a much better team for it, and on those two points, you will be too.

Back to the point... try really listening (not just asking & hearing) and see if it helps. Good luck!