[Ben Martin]

Cyber Blue starts our design by choosing how we want to play the game (tube scoring this year). This can take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks, depending on the game.

After we decide on a strategy, we start prototyping different types of gripper designs and drives. We often look to past years and some concepts explored by other teams when designing arm and manipulator parts. This year, we designed a chassis during the off season, and it worked well. We modified the design for Rack 'n' Roll.

We CAD several basic overall designs, then we pick the one that suits our purposes best. We modify the parts in this design in Inventor until they are ready to be manufactured. Next, we look back to our prototypes to see which manipulator works best for the game. We CAD the manipulator and add it to the final robot design.

Once we are pretty sure that a part is ready to be made, we send it to the manufacturing lab downstairs. If the part requires fine measurements, we use a CNC mill.

Finally, we assemble the parts into their various subsystems. If a system has a problem that we did not see in the design, we modify the CAD file and remake the necessary parts. This continues until the robot is completely built and ready to be shipped.