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Unread 17-03-2009, 22:18
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Jeff Pahl Jeff Pahl is offline
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FRC #5148 (New Berlin Blitz)
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Rookie Year: 2004
Location: Waukesha, WI
Posts: 344
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Re: Top Ten Tips From The Veterans

The three things I try to encourage rookie teams to do are:

1) Buy a scale!!

2) Pick a common fastener and stick to it unless there is a really good reason not to in a particular place. My personal preference is 1/4-20 socket head cap screws, but whatever you pick is fine. Then buy them in 1/4" length increments from 1/2" to about 2-1/2", along with the correct nuts and washers. Then buy about a dozen of the correct wrenches for whatever size you picked. And hide all the other sizes in the toolbox. It's nice to be able to give everyone on the pit / drive teams their own wrench, and they have the tool in their pocket to fix almost anything.

3) Buy a scale!!

Spend $150-$200 on a good 200# capacity digital scale. And then make sure you use it. It's a lot easier to take weight off a part before you install it the first time than to take the robot apart later to drill holes in something.
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Team 5148 - 2014 Wisconsin Regional Rookie All-Stars!!

Mentor: 1379: 2004-2008 / 2530: 2008-2013 / 2861: 2009 / 5148: 2014-??
Lead Robot Inspector: 10,000 Lakes '09 - '11 / Lake Superior '11-'12 / Northern Lights '13, '15 - '16 / Championship '09 - '12, '14 - '15
Attending/Inspecting 2017: TBD, Wisconsin, STL Championship

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