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Posted by Daniel, Student on team #192, Gunn Robotics Team, from Henry M Gunn Senior High School and NASA Ames.

Posted on 5/16/99 1:25 PM MST


In Reply to: Re: Location, location, location... posted by MaryEllen on 5/16/99 1:06 PM MST:



I agree. It would be silly to completely limit the robot to parts students can make in a normal shop.

However, engineering and shop class are perhaps more related than you're giving them credit. You see, with no practical manufacturing experience, an engineer can get into a lot of trouble. Our team works with the head machinist from NASA Ames to make complex parts such as our drivetrain sprockets. He loves to vent about how today's engineers often design parts that border on the impossible where machining is concerned. It is important that students learn how these things are made, and are taught the importance of design simplicity. Having the students machine most of the parts really drives that message home. In fact, even in AutoCAD, a student must always keep in mind the machining process. It helps them know how to dimension, it helps them know how to draw...it helps.

You'd also be surprised how many girls love to use machine tools! Out of necessity, our girls really dive in. They have a great time! In fact, the GRT2000 team is nearly 1/3 girls.

Back to the point though, I didn’t mean engineers can’t build parts, I just wanted to make sure that students would be allowed to use the tools because I feel it helps to have the students build as much as possible.


Thanks for the info! This is very encouraging…
-Daniel