FRC "Survival Scenario" Exercise

[Pault]

I think the scenario would be a little clearer if you were to say that the team has tried every other company that could potentially sponsor them, and this is the only sponsor to say yes. If there is a possibility that other sponsors come in and give the team some more stuff, then people will be more inclined to pick stuff that is harder to get but not necessarily as important

[AllenGregoryIV]

1 Initial registration fee (1 regional OR 2 districts)
2 Registration Fee for additional regional OR district championship
3 A mentor of your choice with CAD/Inventor expertise
4 Travel expenses (hotel, transportation, food) for two competition events
5 $500 Visa Debit Card
6 Lathe & tooling
7 Laser OR water jet cutter
8 Sheet metal bending capabilities
9 Full Size Practice Area (Space, Carpet, Driver Stations - No Game Elements)
10 $500 voucher for McMaster-Carr
11 $500 voucher for VEX/VEX Pro
12 $500 worth of raw material (aluminum, steel, polycarb)
13 $500 voucher for AndyMark
14 $500 voucher for Lowe’s or Home Depot
15 Team Meeting Area (2)
16 Mill & tooling
17 A mentor of your choice with FRC strategic design expertise
18 A mentor of your choice with programming expertise
19 A mentor of your choice with mechanical engineering expertise
20 A mentor of your choice with expertise in all non-engineering matters
21 A mentor of your choice with electrical engineering expertise
22 3 Axis CNC & tooling
23 Team Uniforms (sufficient quantity for all team members)
24 Pit Set Up of your choice + Robot Cart
25 Two Laptops with OS + Internet access
26 Six additional batteries and chargers
27 An active teacher and supportive school of your choice (1)
28 Basic hand tools + Measurement tools + Electrical tools (nothing powered)
29 Drill press & bit set + Band saw
30 Belt sander + grinder + arbor press
31 Basic power tools (Cordless drill + bit set, Dremel, etc.)
32 Welding capabilities
33 Team Button Give Aways (sufficient quantity for all events)
34 Unique Team Give Away (sufficient quantity for all events)

This was picked on the basis of building the best robot and assumes you have an awesome group of students. It's possible to run a successful team with only one mentor, hard but possible. Since most of the robot is going to be laser cut sheet metal, CAD experience is the most important. Students can pick up the programming, electrical, and other stuff pretty well from all the resources that exist and getting help from other teams.

You can buy, craigslist, dumpster dive, etc. for a lot of the small tools and items that you need. Once you have a lathe, laser cutter, and CNC break there isn't much you can't make.

The full practice area would be extremely beneficial to making a competitive robot. Several really great teams meet in a garage and figure out a way to get it done, but having a meeting space would be preferred.

A robot cart can just be a $10 furniture dolly and pit shelves while nice are not needed. I also feel like buttons in FRC are dying down a bit, they aren't nearly as "required" as I remember them being. Handwritten notes of encouragement would be better giveaways than pretty much anything you could buy anyway, so why waste the spot.

I'm hoping I role at least a 5. If we get a 1 we would probably move to a plywood laser cut robot like 1899.