West Coast Drive: Bellypan

[NickE]

Originally Posted by BJC

Could you please explain why 254 uses a bellypan? Why haven't you looked back and what did you do before 2009?

In 2004-2005, we had a ~1/2" sheet of plywood.
In 2006-2008, we had a 1/4" sheet of ABS. It was nice to be able to physically lay out all of the components and just drill/tap holes wherever for mounting & zipties.

The bellypan is of comparable (or less) weight to our previous solutions and acts as a structural member of the frame, stiffening it substantially. Furthermore, when the frame tubes are riveted to it, it acts as a welding jig and holds the frame tubes nice and square. It helps make the competition and practice bots closer to identical. Although it does look good , it is really just a luxury and I wouldn't say having the waterjet baseplate has improved our on-field performance or made our wiring any nicer.

Also to keep in mind, cutting a baseplate like this has some disadvantages including requiring significant advance planning and a solid grasp on how the wires and hoses connect all of the components. Furthermore, it takes a ton of waterjet time and we're lucky to have the resources to be able to do this. For 90% of the teams in FIRST, a waterjet baseplate is probably not worth it. There are better ways to use design and machining resources to move your robot into that top 10%. However, for teams who have the time and the resources, it is a nice thing to be able to do.