pic: Design Challenge: Pits

[1502]

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[Andrew Remmers]

I like this idea! I was acutally working on a form of pits/pit systems myself. Its pretty interesting If I can get around to making them one of these days I'll certainly post it.

- Andrew

[akoscielski3]

The CAD of our pits


And our actual pits


We built our pits in the offseason for 2010-2011. They were donated by MK Extrusion and our biggest sponsor Centerline. We have every cabinet on Casters so it is really easy to move them. they fit perfectly in our trailer (with literally no room to spare on the sides).

If anyone has any questions i wil be happy to answer them

[Gregor]

Originally Posted by akoscielski3

The CAD of our pits


And our actual pits


We built our pits in the offseason for 2010-2011. They were donated by MK Extrusion and our biggest sponsor Centerline. We have every cabinet on Casters so it is really easy to move them. they fit perfectly in our trailer (with literally no room to spare on the sides).

If anyone has any questions i wil be happy to answer them

What is the flooring? Do you find it useful? Would you recommend it or something similar?

By the way I like the 772 sign creeping overtop

[akoscielski3]

Originally Posted by Gregor01

What is the flooring? Do you find it useful? Would you recommend it or something similar?

By the way I like the 772 sign creeping overtop

The flooring is the normal Rubber matting used in most machine shops. they connect together (but we zip tie them because they fall apart easily at competitions). Yes I HIGHLY recommend it. We were one of the first few teams that used matting in our pits back in 2004 or something (Atleast in Canada). Everyone else tries to use the foam mat's which SUCK! these mat's prevent slipping and any metal pieces drop in the circles and don't get stuck in your shoes. It is kind of hard to see from the picture but we have a cut-out of the mat material for where the robot cart rolls into. We have been given ALOT of compliments on these pits, and our old pits (which are now trashed). We do take pride in them very much.

[1502]

I like the plexi display case

Aaron, does the space below the drawer have a sliding plexi door? I can't exactly tell from the picture.

[CalTran]

I'll grab some pictures when I get the chance of our pits. As far as it goes, we've just got two student built diamond plate drawer things. We added a tent like structure of advertisements. I must say though, we tried adding "walls" at GKC, and I absolutely hated it. It makes the 10x10x10 just so much darker and much smaller than it really is.

[1502]

Originally Posted by CalTran

I'll grab some pictures when I get the chance of our pits. As far as it goes, we've just got two student built diamond plate drawer things. We added a tent like structure of advertisements. I must say though, we tried adding "walls" at GKC, and I absolutely hated it. It makes the 10x10x10 just so much darker and much smaller than it really is.

The reason mine has walls is for the fan on the top; we stay cooler. To solve the "wall" issue, we shall use essentially shower curtain material as it can be easily folded up and will still let light through. However, we won't have an issue with light; The model I made has 8 light sockets (for FIRST Bulbs )

[Mark Holschuh]

One thing to remember when designing your pit is that some venues may not be able to provide a 10' x 10' pit space. I believe that teams going to the Championship this year were warned in Bill's Blog that this may have occurred in St. Louis. (I'm pretty sure that all of them ended up being 10' square.)

[1502]

Originally Posted by Mark Holschuh

One thing to remember when designing your pit is that some venues may not be able to provide a 10' x 10' pit space. I believe that teams going to the Championship this year were warned in Bill's Blog that this may have occurred in St. Louis. (I'm pretty sure that all of them ended up being 10' square.)

Michigan's events are usually 8x8.

[Tristan Lall]

A roof is pointless. It's unlikely to rain indoors, and it's one more thing to break and fall on your heads. Besides, it's likely going to result in insufficient lighting, and when the roof falls on your heads, the lights you install will fall too, catch fire and burn the pits down. The venue's lights are free; use them instead.

[sanddrag]

I'm really a fan of GarageDeck coin-top flooring. Relatively inexpensive, light, easy to transport, easy to and assemble and disassemble in many sizes/configurations. We now take it almost everywhere we go. RaceDeck and others are similar.

[S2K JDM]

Originally Posted by akoscielski3

The CAD of our pits


And our actual pits


We built our pits in the offseason for 2010-2011. They were donated by MK Extrusion and our biggest sponsor Centerline. We have every cabinet on Casters so it is really easy to move them. they fit perfectly in our trailer (with literally no room to spare on the sides).

If anyone has any questions i wil be happy to answer them

now thats legit

[Siri]

Consider this a stupid question, but why bring a floor? (What does the provided floor lack?)

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by Siri

Consider this a stupid question, but why bring a floor? (What does the provided floor lack?)

I've used a foam floor for the past 4 years or so. It makes standing and especially kneeling in the pit so much nicer. You spend a lot of time in the pit during the 3 days and your back and knees will thank you.