How much does your robot weigh?

[Cal578]

We were at 119 lb with a couple days to go. Since the scale didn't seem to be quite accurate, and we can't be 100% sure that our manual calibration is perfect, being that close to the 120 lb limit made us a little nervous. Even if we believed our scale was perfect, it may not be the same as the one used by inspectors at competition, and we can't argue with their scale. So, we worked on a few things to give us some safety margin.

Many people talk about the "swiss cheese diet". Here are some points to consider:

1. Drilling holes shouldn't be your first option. We changed to a lighter sprocket, and made a lighter mount for the camera. These were engineering improvements, in addition to saving weight.
2. It takes a lot of holes in plastic to make any difference in weight, and that often compromises strength before much weight is shed. Target metal, especially thick items, first.
3. You can remove weight from any part of the main robot to get under the limit, but the location of the removed weight can impact performance. Removing weight up high makes your robot more stable and easier to balance. Removing weight down low can make things worse.
4. If you have decoration like lights, they count against the weight limit. We have some cool lights that everyone likes, but we had to make the decision that if we're overweight at competition, lights are the first thing to remove (I really hope we don't have to, they look too good). You might be tempted to remove panels that display sponsors, but remember that [R04] requires displaying school and sponsors during competition (plus, it's just right).

Good luck, everyone!