We also got the support of an electrical engineer once the building season began. Since I'm part of the electrical/programming part of the team, I learned the most from Mr. Pinter. This is a picture of a wiring run list that was made by him. We have a
complex robot this year, and without these Excell spreadsheets, wiring everything would have been such a pain. Before this season, I had no idea how to do something as efficient and organized as this. Though just a few sheets of paper, this method of organization is one of the most valuable things I learned this year.
And to close up, here's some pictures of us working - I'm sure all teams have tons of these.
Anyways, the point is although we had professional help, we didn't have an "engineering takeover." We had some help from the outside, but nothing like what you suggested. Don't get me wrong - I'm not bragging that "810 does this and nobody else - we're so unique!" We're not the first ones to do the activities that we did. I'm just showing you that we WERE involved.
Some teams do everything student-run. There's nothing wrong with that - in fact, taking on the challenges by yourself is really rewarding in the end.
We feel that you can learn a lot with professional help. Don't get me wrong - I don't mean help as in they do all the work. I mean help as in guidance. Last year was our rookie year - we learned what FIRST is and how the various kit parts work together. I had no idea what a mill was, I had no idea how CAD worked, I had no idea how to organize wiring as neatly as I learned. This year, with some guidance, we learned what CAN be done, and although doing it on your own has it's advantages, getting some help let us do what we never thought we could have done by ourselves. I think that's what FIRST is about.
On a side note, we also had tons of fun in the process ;-)
