K3 ... teaching an old K-9 new tricks...

[Joe Johnson]

Of course we have always had to design our robots before we built them.

The problem for us has always been that we get 80-90% of the way designed and then start building.

Often we find out that that last 10-20% drives us nuts.

Little changes like moving a plate up 2 inches can become a huge problem if you have too much built depending on that the plate staying where it is.

What is even more strange for us this year is that beyond having the design "done" before we have built anything, we also have put in the time to complete our bill of materials.

Having a more or less complete BOM has allowed us to KNOW we are going to make weight and make our K3 $3,500 limit.

Another advantage of a complete BOM is that we have been able to do various strength and CG calculations.

How hard of a hit can our robot take? It's in the spreadsheet.
How many crates can we pick up in this or that configuration? It's in the spreadsheet.

I am anxious to see how our calculations match reality.

Time will tell...

Joe J.