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Unread 28-11-2012, 23:40
BrendanB BrendanB is offline
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AKA: Brendan Browne
FRC #1058 (PVC Pirates)
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Rookie Year: 2003
Location: Londonderry, NH
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Re: Tools to have?

We purchased a mini benchtop lathe this past season. Our shop also has limited resources since it was setup as a woodshop and not necessarily a metal shop like some of our neighbors have. Band saw (horizontal and vertical), miter saw, table saw, drill press (small and large), large lathe (for wood only), and a small CNC that we use for plastics and sometimes metal but it takes time.

Before dishing out a lot of money for tools and fancy machines your team should sit down and ask what type of capabilities would you like to have and would you use them effectively. It would be a shame to invest a ton of money into tools and machines you won't use. Tools also don't make winning robots or better robots. I know of a few teams who have resources in their highschools one can only dream of and yet they haven't made eliminations in several years. The tools you listed are the same I used on my old team and we produced some very good robots with a few parts outsourced to local shops.

For us the mini lathe was a great investment especially with making roller parts this past season. I'd recommend it but its not a must have.

Good luck!
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1519 Mechanical M.A.Y.H.E.M. 2008 - 2010
3467 Windham Windup 2011 - 2015
1058 PVC Pirates 2016 - xxxx