Design and engineering mgmt rules

[ToddF]

Ooh, ooh. I want to play.

FIRST rules and lessons learned over the past 5 years (sometimes the hard way):

1) Setscrews are not power transmission devices. They are evil. They fail when you need them, and damage parts when used correctly.
2) Never set down a tool. It either goes in your tool pouch or the toolbox.
3) No one leaves until the shop is clean. I am not your mommy or daddy and I shouldn't have to stay late to clean up your messes.
4.a) Planning for wiring and electronics is one of the most important design tasks on the robot.
4.b) Neatness and quality of wiring is a strong indicator of a quality robot.
5) The proper sized clearance hole for a fastener is the size of the fastener. If you need to drill larger holes to make something fit, you messed up somewhere.
6) On your prototypes and practice bot, match drill everything. On your competition bot, match drill nothing.
7) CAD is a tool, not an end product. Model what you need to, and nothing more.
8) A slide show is not a video.
9.a) Matches are won and lost in the pit.
9.b) Bring a spare for every COTS actuator and sensor on your robot.
9.c) The most important job on the pit crew is Ambassador. They keep others from distracting the hands-on workers.
10) Neatness counts in your shop, in your pit, in your storeroom. If you can't find something quickly, you might as well not even have it.
11.a) During build season, time is your most valuable resource. If a student is not working, they are not contributing. If a student is distracting others, they are actively hurting the team.
11.b) Mentors cannot effectively mentor more than 4 students at once.
12) Summer is for development projects (including drivetrain). Fall is for new student skills development and robot build practice. Build season is for execution.
13) If there's no video, it didn't happen.
14.a) Planning is easy. Execution is hard.
14.b) On CD, don't talk about what you plan to do. Demonstrate what you have done.
15) Don't spend time making something if you can buy it. (unless it saves you a ton of money on your BOM)
16.a) Use COTs parts whenever possible. They don't count against your withholding allowance.
16.b) Pre-purchase COTs drivetrain parts. FIRST does not enforce vendor part availability rules. FIRST vendors know this, and do not keep adequate stock.
17) It's even more important to keep Gracious Professionalism in mind when you are doing good than when you are doing bad.
18) All threaded fasteners should either have a locknut or loctite.
19) Loctite destroys lexan.
20) Use flush cutters to trim off wire-ties, NOT diagonal cutters.
21) On the control panel, use switches for state functions (arm in/arm out) and buttons to initiate actions (shoot).
22) Drivers and operators should never need to take their eyes off the robot. Driver's station displays are for troubleshooting, not operations.
23) Do not overwrite old code. Always keep previous versions, so you can go back to something that used to work.
24) No matter how many times your pit crew and drivers say they don't need one, they both need pre-match checklists to be sure the robot is configured for a match.
25) Use hex shafts rather than round shafts with keys.
26) Don't ask your match partners what they can do. Ask your scouts what they have done.