Recommendations for purchases

[IKE]

You might want to look into these guys if you would like to teach teh kids about controls:
http://www.quanser.com/english/html/..._homepage.html

they ahve some pretty neat platforms to do controls experiments from.

[efoote868]

I'm not sure if you strictly wanted to stick with prepacked robotics kits or how deep you wanted to get into certain parts of engineering...

As an (almost graduated) Electrical Engineer, I'd recommend a few PIC micro programmers (I have a PICKit2 that works really well with a ZIF socket, you may want to look into a PICKit3 or similar), a bunch of PICs, several breadboards, wire sets, resistor kits, capacitor kits, along with standard gate logic, potentiometers, push buttons, and lots of LEDs. Simple things that blink and respond to simple user input usually spark interest in electrical engineering.

If you wanted to get real deep you could pick up a bunch of high powered MOSFETs and let them make their own speed controllers (although this wouldn't have much of a FRC application).

[Ian Curtis]

Much like cities have Coats for Kids and Bike Rescues, I think we need Lathes for Kids. You really can make just about anything on a lathe in the absence of other tools, and we made so many of them to build things in WWII and thereafter that you can pick up a non-basketcase for $200-$400 and get it running for not a whole lot more and elbow grease.

I find it fascinating all the press that these mini 3D printers get. Really all of these people should be getting a lathe and a mill first, then move onto the 3D printer for really exotic stuff.

After all, they made these without a DRO... or even a computer!

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Ian Curtis

Much like cities have Coats for Kids and Bike Rescues, I think we need Lathes for Kids. You really can make just about anything on a lathe in the absence of other tools, and we made so many of them to build things in WWII and thereafter that you can pick up a non-basketcase for $200-$400 and get it running for not a whole lot more and elbow grease.

I find it fascinating all the press that these mini 3D printers get. Really all of these people should be getting a lathe and a mill first, then move onto the 3D printer for really exotic stuff.

After all, they made these without a DRO... or even a computer!

Quoted for extreme accuracy.

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by Ian Curtis

Much like cities have Coats for Kids and Bike Rescues, I think we need Lathes for Kids. You really can make just about anything on a lathe in the absence of other tools, and we made so many of them to build things in WWII and thereafter that you can pick up a non-basketcase for $200-$400 and get it running for not a whole lot more and elbow grease.

I find it fascinating all the press that these mini 3D printers get. Really all of these people should be getting a lathe and a mill first, then move onto the 3D printer for really exotic stuff.

After all, they made these without a DRO... or even a computer!

FYI that cut away (or one of them) of the Wasp Major you linked to is in our engine museum here at Pratt & Whitney. Of course we also have bigger cutaways of a JT8D and JT9D turbofan engines and the ones we have here are also animated and can fully rotate.

Back to the topic I agree lathes are good, but I loved having our CNC plasma cutter that we got this year. The whole setup was about $10k which was the 4'x4' CNC table and the cutter head. It was a huge time saver.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Peter Matteson

Back to the topic I agree lathes are good, but I loved having our CNC plasma cutter that we got this year. The whole setup was about $10k which was the 4'x4' CNC table and the cutter head. It was a huge time saver.

Was it a Torchmate?

If so, what materials did you use it for mostly? Did you modify the cutter head at all or what gas you were using. I'd love to hear more about the setup if you used it for FRC parts because MORT just got a CNC plasma cutter as well and they're looking to set it up for the season. I'm not sure what company or model this one is though. I believe it is a PlasmaCam.



Thanks!

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Was it a Torchmate?

If so, what materials did you use it for mostly? Did you modify the cutter head at all or what gas you were using. I'd love to hear more about the setup if you used it for FRC parts because MORT just got a CNC plasma cutter as well and they're looking to set it up for the season. I'm not sure what company or model this one is though. I believe it is a PlasmaCam.



Thanks!

We cut mostly 6061 on it. Although be warned it it will take the heat treat our of the aluminum near the cuts in the heat affected zone. We cut a variety of thicknesses up to 1/4 and were cutting parts in minutes of making the designs.

As far as I know we used the standard plasma cutter head. Our machine is the plasma cam that you show a picture of and is set up in our welding area for ventilation. Be warned in your setup the computer that runs it needs to be well protected from spatter and that the vaporized metal does move.

The gas we use it just filtered and regulated shop air nothing special.

I will suggest making several test pieces before build. We spent a lot of time learning the best way to make our parallel plate drive and came up with some great processes to make what used to take days in a couple hours, although I can't garuntee everyone has the tools needed to make the types of setups we divised I recommend some trial and error.

Akash, look at my FB photo album for Build Season 2012 to see pictures of the setup.

[Wetzel]

Mindstorms and the Carnegie Mellon Curriculum or Vex and Swept Away. I've taught a 6 week summer school class around the former, and am teaching a two week class this summer around the later. The Legos keep, until sets get mixed up or pieces lost to the vacuum, but that is a slow and minor degradation of ability. The Vex will last as long or shorter, depending on how much you let your students cut the material. One feedback I've gotten from a PLTW engineering teacher who has used both FTC and VEX was that the students all preferred FTC because it wasn't so open ended, that the LEGOs were easier to deal with. YMMV

There is a classroom bundle from Vex for about $6k that gets you a field, a game, and kits for 5 robots. Getting enough so that they can work in groups of 3 or 4 makes a huge difference when hands are engaged. I'd take these rather than one big machine for a classroom.

Wetzel

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Peter Matteson

Akash, look at my FB photo album for Build Season 2012 to see pictures of the setup.

Will do, Peter, thanks for the information. Since you most likely have the same setup I will be bugging you during this Summer.

Thanks again!
-Akash