The 8

[Tetraman]

So you are looking for the 8 most commonly used robot mechanisms and systems to educate students on classic FIRST design?

1. Drive Train
2. Mechanical Arm
3. Single Action Grip/Grab (Not just to pick up balls or tubes, but to latch onto rolling goals or Tetras.)
4. C-Shape Roller Hand Grip (It is too important to pass up an opportunity to learn about being design specific to the game you play. Not every object can be effectivly picked up by a single action grip.)
5. Ball Shooting/Aiming Systems (this includes the Hopper and Intake Designs as they are connected to each other seemlessly anyway.)
6. Hanging Systems for Horizontal and Vertical Bars
7. Mechanical Elevators and Telescoping Systems (Regardless of how it's done, many teams have used ways of moving their parts to get a little bit more extension or height.)
8. Game Specific Robot-to-Field Interaction Designs (See Rack n' Roll for how teams were able and unable to cope with getting caught in the Rack, or in Breakaway, as some teams created systems or used different parts to deal with moving on and over the Bumps. What do teams do to prevent balls from getting caught in their wheels or when a track ball hits them after getting flung by 1114? It is important to visualize how your robot will exist within the game environment and implement into your overall robot design. Consider this the "wildcard" of FIRST design that embodies everything the other 7 didn't.)

[Chris is me]

1. Drivetrain
2. Another Drivetrain
3. Arm (rotational)
4. Roller Gripper for ball like pieces
5. Roller Gripper for non-ball pieces
6. Intake and ball managment system (2006, 2009 type)
7. Elevator
8. Pneumatic grabber

I think this is a pretty comprehensive list of things you could learn before an offseason that could be applied to many games.

[Matt C]

Pneumatics, pneumatics, pneumatics.

Properly implemented pneumatics can vastly reduce the complexity of some mechanisms.

[MattC9]

Originally Posted by Matt C

Pneumatics, pneumatics, pneumatics.

Properly implemented pneumatics can vastly reduce the complexity of some mechanisms.

Amen