[EricH]

Originally Posted by Patrick Chiang

Really? Well, our robot is 100% student-built (by that I mean every part of the robot has a student's fingerprints on it). And last year, at a competition, our students helped another team build their kitbot (they had issues) at the competition. So, that makes at least 2 I can personally verify. I know quite a few teams in the area that also claim 100% student-built bots.

Did you use the Kitbot transmission? How about motors from the KOP? Control system?

If you used any one of those, and you claim to be 100% student-built, you're exaggerating. 100% student-assembled, I can accept. But that cRIO was designed by professional engineers, and built by people who build them for a living. Ditto for the motors. The Kitbot transmission was designed by an FRC mentor. (Actually, any AndyMark transmissions would have been designed by one or more FRC mentors/heavily mentored former students who are now mentors.)

Y'all want to claim 100% student-built, at least go back to the raw materials--resistors and board material and extruded aluminum and the like. I won't make you go back to ore; that's also extracted and processed by professionals.

Something you said earlier, about all problems have elegant solutions: Not always. Though if you find yourself with a non-elegant solution, you either solved the wrong problem, made assumptions that were wrong, or solved a problem that wasn't a problem. I've seen a few nasty solutions in my college coursework.