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Unread 09-03-2005, 17:20
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#1163 (Trojan Horses)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Rookie Year: 2001
Location: Faulkton, SD
Posts: 90
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Exclamation Re: Drive Assembly Sprockets are Custom Bored

My experience in design and building is as a mentor for the past four years (including 05) on a team with no engineering support, limited funds, few tools but lots of students with grit and determination to get things done. We have gone from homemade to ready made and I can attest that this year's kit of gears and motors was the best ever. Last year we tried a self-designed system using similar motors, sprockets from the local supplier and chain. We crashed and burned (literally) so many times that we spent the entire first day of the competition last year running between teams trading parts, information and expertise with a robot that we never ran after the first go-round on day 1. This year we had the robot built and running by the end of week 1! For my money this helped us concentrate on making things right instead of trial and error. I'd like to personally thank the person or people responsible for the entire kit and also for their tireless efforts in making the process work for ALL teams, not just those with unlimited tech assistance, tools and funds. FIRST should be about inspiring students to reach beyond what they thought possible. This concept kit did just that. Keep up the good work and make next year's kit just as user-friendly for ALL teams!