Practice Robot Cost

[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by FrankJ

But you also have spares for competition. Keeping in mind the weight restriction for spare at competition.

Originally Posted by FRC Manual 2013

R21

Teams may bring a maximum of 30 lbs of FABRICATED ITEMS to each event to be used to repair and/or upgrade their ROBOT.

As the rule states, FABRICATED items are limited to 30lbs. This does NOT include unmodified COTS items. Spare motors, sprockets, bolts, nuts, wheels (depends), pistons, brass fittings, air tanks, motor controllers, bearings, pulleys, belts (probably not chain), etc. are NOT included in that 30lbs. Also, for the record,

Originally Posted by FRC Manual 2013

The OPERATOR CONSOLE, BUMPERS, and any ROBOT battery assemblies are exempt from this limit.

So, theoretically, while a spare entire drive-train may weigh 40lbs, since it is possible to separate the system into 2 piles, COTS and FABRICATED, and it may be obvious that one could remove enough unmodified COTS items from the assemblies to reduce the assembly to <30lbs, you should be allowed to take it in.

[protoserge]

Our fabricated materials are typically sponsored and our competition robot sans KoP items runs around $2500. A loaded 4-slot cRIO is $525.

In the past, we used first iteration parts on the practice bot. This last season we had an almost identical build, sans air storage and shooter. We designed the shooter to connect with a few machine screws and a wiring harness since we intended to iterate the entire subassembly.

We have been making 2 robots for the past three years and the added cost is a no-brainer and gives the competition team a huge training advantage.

[magnets]

Our team has a pretty unique build process for our robots that helps keep the cost pretty low. We're pretty heavy into cad, so we know what our final robot will weigh before we even start building it. We begin with a bunch of simple prototype through weeks 1-2. Then we build a wooden robot frame starting in week 3, and slowly add more finalized actuators on to the practice robot during weeks 3/4/5. When our wood bot is done, we build the metal one that kids have been CADing for the past few weeks during the last few days of week 5, and the beginning of week six. Then we improve the metal one until ship day. After, we modify the wooden bot (which at this point is in bad shape) to be a driver practice robot. The wooden robot costs almost nothing more because it's all cheap materials/old motors.

[wireties]

A second robot is usually a little less money for parts depending on how much you buy versus how much you fabricate. The big difference is time. That second bot takes a lot less time to build. And the second bot can make a huge difference allowing you more practice and an opportunity to make the most of the 30lbs of parts on Thursday of your first regional.