[Siri]

Three years ago, our original arm was ~20lbs heavier than we had weight for. We ended completely up changing out the entire arm the day of ship. Long night.
Two years ago, I think we managed to break a chain (we'll never do 2-wheel drive again) and run into the wall almost every match at our first regional. We lost drivetrain function completely in 4 matches. We had some serious breaks from running into walls, and more than once had to replace the cylinders and supports on our catapult arm. We ended up on our backs more than once with CG and steering problems, and our left rear wheel wasn't in the plane created by the other 3, meaning we often couldn't turn left (serious problem in Overdrive). We also wore through our treads like no one's business, which took at least half an hour to replace (we're plaction wheel people now). We just barely made weight (0.3lbs) and had several other perennial repair issues. It took at least an hour to get our bumpers off, much less on. 2008 was by far our most painful pit crew year. Certainly learned a lot, though: for the past two years we've won awards for our drivetrains! The biggest things we've changed in the pit are bumpers (now take 20 seconds), batteries, wire-ties, and consumables (e.g. elastics), plus occasionally wheel alignment and optional upgrades.


I remember assuming that you were supposed to spend every second from the time the robot comes off the field until the time it goes back on frantically fixing it. The truth is, you really can improve durability and serviceability by leaps and bounds if you concentrate on improving on your weaknesses, reaching out to resources/teams, and planning for repairs from the start (don't just make sure the bolt fits, the wrench has to as well). Good luck and congrats on being chosen for the eliminations!

We could actually make this a package deal: weight loss and a cure for insomnia. Go through a 6 week build season and you'll lose 15 pounds and sleep like a rock the next chance you get (not to mention through all of "off season")!