Quote:
Originally Posted by babycakes
Its completely the opposite of what FIRST is about.
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I will challenge you to find anything in the rules or the speeches of Dean or Woodie that suggest that FIRST is about learning to use a drill or a mill or a press or a break.
FIRST is about inspiring students, and if we can tech them some things along the way that's a fantastic bonus.
Team 217 has developed a build season process that allows them to maximize the time they spend on prototyping, design, and iteration by minimizing fabrication time. They do this by using construction techniques that best align with the capabilities of their sponsors. I hardly see how any of this goes against what FIRST is about. Their team has optimized their process to spend the maximum amount of time working on solving the problems presented by the game.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're jealous. I know I am. Team 217 (and the rest of Team IFI, who use similar methods) are teams that I strive to emulate. What makes them even better is they aren't trying to stop you from emulating them, in fact they are actively encouraging it by doing their best to share their design process with the rest of the FRC community.
I always say the same thing to people that say that students don't do design work on team so-and-so, go talk to them. Walk into the team's pit and ask the students about the machine, you may be surprised by how much they're able to tell you.