Sustainability - 2014 - COTS parts

[Justin Montois]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

I'd call them powertrain components. Things like planetary gearboxes tend to be useful more for manipulators than for driving, for example.

You're right. That's why I said most components, Not all.

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

Wasn't there a recent survey/study that suggested the principal reason for new teams folding after a year or two was lack of funding? I don't think discouragement is all that big a factor -- many of the people I talk to say that a "bad" year is more likely to encourage them to try harder the next time.

While I'm sure funding is an issue, the focus of this thread seems to be on the competitive aspect of FRC, not all of FRC in general.

I also completely disagree with the notion that there is somehow a lack of trying that's contributing to the downfall of some teams and somehow failure will encourage them to "try harder". Let's stop promoting failure as the means of motivation to getting teams to a higher level.

In most cases, these teams work very hard, they just choose something outside of their ability. A little assistance focusing these teams on appropriate strategies in the first few years is a good thing.