What have I learned?
1) Being a team captain as a high school student is COMPLETELY different from being lead mentor/ main contact/ team director. There is a lot of paperwork and behind-the-scenes coordination that goes into a team that I had no idea about.
2) stocking up on raw stock before the season saves gas, time, and sanity during the 6 weeks
3) You can't waste any time in ordering parts. That was 1995's biggest setback this year, we took our time ordering parts, which lead to a late start on actual building of the robot.
4) Inventor is a great tool, but you can't depend on it without doing at least some prototyping.
5) There is a reason why AndyMark has such a good reputation (AM shifters make driving so much more fun)
6) Always double check things, we had a couple machined parts come in with holes too small because I got my wheels mixed up (kit wheel = .5 bore, AM traction = .75 bore)
7) "3 weeks left" is NOT "plenty of time"
8) All-nighters are very productive (yes I'm being serious)
I'll add more as I recover from the past 6 week and my memory returns
