[Alex Golec]

Well, our drive has been in multiple stages, each one slightly different than the rest.

We originally planned for a 6WD robot in which the middle wheels could pivot up in order to create a 4WD setup in order to hold our ground while shooting, and also to create a "nook" in the center so we could go up the ramp with ease. Lo and behold, the entire contraption weighed 10lbs for the frame pieces and motors, and that happened to put us 5 lbs overweight.

To follow up to that system, we made a simple 6WD, with the center wheels lowered to allow turning, but what resulted was a teeter-totter effect when we tried to shoot, which was hilarious to watch when our shots hit above and below the goal.

That is how the robot shipped.

During our first fix-it window, our main engineer, Art worked on developing a castor-drop system similar to the one we used on our 2003 champion robot.

To make a long story short, what ended up happening was that the center wheels were removed altogether, the castors were added up front, powered by pneumatics, so then we installed an entire pneumatic system in whatever space was availible on the robot.

I once asked Jim Zondag from FRC 33 Killer Bees: "Are you guys done with your robot?"
He replied with, "This robot won't be done for a long time, because we keep on fixing it"

I think that making continuous improvements is one of the best parts of FIRST, just because there's always room for a little change.

_Alex