[Chris is me]

Much like Eric I'll answer for both teams I've been involved with.

Originally Posted by southbend

hello FRC mentors, i am trying to gather some information as to what successful teams have been doing and not doing - on many fronts, not just financially.

Who builds robots/where?

Using "built" liberally, as a term for "designed and built".

1714 is a mostly student built effort. The mentors act as fantastic teachers and guides who gradually become less and less necessary. It's basically "your ideal FRC team" from a student / mentor balance standpoint, and I would highly suggest emulating them. The team works in a sponsor's shop, American Acrylics.

2791 is also almost entirely student built. We have two teachers and me as the adult force right now, and one of the teachers knows Inventor well enough to CAD up some student's concepts. Other students are learning CAD to catch up with him in order to do more design work before building. We do not have any engineers on the team yet. We build in a school classroom and school metal shop.

Do you have dedicated space/machine shop?

1714: Yes! We basically have run of American Acrylics, thanks to head mentor Mr. Wittman's generosity. I think we have a good 30 x 80 foot space dedicated solely to robotics. We have access to a CNC mill, lathe, an XY mill, a drill press, and two extremely large acrylic laser cutters. The last tool makes prototyping extremely easy and was critical to the 2009 robot's success.

2791: Nope. We have storage space approximately equal to the size of a 9x9 pit for storage. Having to fit everything in there, combined with the densely packed mess made in the last 30 minutes of every meeting, is a huge pain. The team would be a lot more efficient with a dedicated space.

Do you rely on corp. sponsors to build?

1714: I've never heard of a sponsor machining a part for 1714, so no, other than access to American Acrylics tools we don't.

2791: We have had some sponsors machine some of the CNCed parts of the robot, including the drivetrain sides and the hanging arm plates. Other than that, everything is student machined.

Who manages the team/students?

1714: I forget the official title of the student that does a lot of the managment work, but the responsibility lies between her, the team captain, and our head mentor.

2791: Largely the same, with a bit more load shifted to the student President instead of the mentor[s].

How involved is your school?

1714: While not limited to just one school, Thomas More High has been very helpful, supporting the team a little bit financially while giving us access to their gymnasium and cafeteria when we need it, such as for our FLL tournament. If 1714 ran an off season, it would probably be there.

2791: Shaker High does not give us any financial support.

How involved are your students parents?

1714: A lot. The "team moms" help out a ton! The less technical minded parents help with food at regionals and meetings, while more technical parents serve as inspirational mentors.

2791: Basically the same, but a smaller team means less help is available, though still much appreciated.

What is your teams operating budget?

1714: It varies from year to year. I don't think it'd be wise for me to post the exact number, but last year it was fairly high to allow lots of flexibility. This year, the budget was significantly lower. I believe a reserve is kept.

2791: Not enough. I think we ended up running off of about 12,000 this year. I didn't know you could run a team with that budget, but you can with clever recycling and lots of frugality.

How do you get compensated, besides the obvious joy of watching your students grow?

1714: I'm volunteering. It would be just weird if I got compensated as an alum.

2791: My travel fees are waived. The team doesn't have money for more of a stipend and I would refuse it if they did. The teachers get a small (~$250) compensation from the school.

What is your typical build season schedule?

1714: I don't really remember, and it varies year to year. This year, we spent my entire 7 days or so brainstorming, arguing about design tradeoffs, and coming up with a basic game plan or three. In 2009, I was a little less aware, but basically discussion and early prototyping for a week, then the design-prototype-build process occurred for each subteam individually (e.g. the chassis / drivetrain CDT was doing final build before manipulator was).

2791: We didn't stick to it, but we were supposed to be discussing for a week, prototyping for a week, prototype and build together for a week, finish building over the next 2, and a week of testing. Good joke, everyone.