Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux
For rookies, I'd highly recommend getting your AndyMark drive base assembled ASAP (have a few people start building it week 1, heck even day 1) and then attach your prototypes ontop of that frame to give you a more real-world test. Most teams use previous season drive base platforms but you most likely won't have that option.
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If all you have for a drive base is that one KoP chassis, I recommend waiting until you have your overall robot design done, at least to the extent of knowing your horizontal dimensions, drive type, gearing/speed, and any interruptions that you will need in the frame (e.g. for game piece pick up). We did essentially as Ryan suggested above our first year (Rebound Rumble, a basketball-based game), and seriously compromised our chassis' integrity when we added a gap to pick up balls.
It's probably obvious to you as you've done this before, but for rookie teams especially: Decide before you start building something whether it is a prototype or will be the competition part (subject to later modification, of course). If it's going to be a competition part, you'll want to do a more careful material selection and construction than if it is just a prototype to provide dimensions and such for the real mechanism. With a prototype, you can stretch dimensions and weight that you know you will have to tuck in when you build for real.