|
We start with a meeting to get everyones ideas and after the students construct the playing field. This takes place in a Hammond school building built in the 30s in an old band room. This location will almost hold a playing field and has several rooms we can store parts and tools and a room we use with the grinder and sander and saws that are loud. We hold all of our meetings in this room except for those working in a PC computer lab in another part of this same building. (The Hammond Area Career Center) This room has a very high ceiling so it works well for handling balls and other flying objects. Its located on the second floor and everything has to be carried up and down two flights of stairs. (goals, parts, tools, robot etc.)
Most all of the building takes place in this old band room with Bill Beatty and his engineers, several parents, and most all of our students in attendance 5 nights per week and all day Saturday and Sunday for the entire build phase. After the initial meeting everyones ideas are compiled and a basic design takes shape. This is more defined by Mr. Beatty. The engineers and our students and parents start putting together the new robot. The students do really build a portion of the robot but the engineers have the final say. The construction takes place on one end of this room on the playing field. Any machining required is done at Beatty Machine and Bemcor or several other generous machine shops in town (Brian Beatty's buddies) but prmarilly the Beatty shop. The Hammond Schools location does not have machine shop facilities. Students and Mr. Noble (a Beatty engineer) will construct all the electrical systems
All testing and driving practice are performed in this same room. (after all the metal shavings and the White Castle boxes are cleaned up) We have human player practice in our parking lot and also in this room too.
|