Opinion Poll: Proliferation of Prefbricated Parts

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Dalas

As a team member, I find it very demoralizing that we could perform better in competition by buying a kit and sleeping in than if we got up early to build our own.

If you're sleeping in and using prefab parts, then you may not be using these purchased parts to their fullest potential. As i mentioned in my first post on this thread, my team uses lots of COTS and custom, but we don't sleep in.

Also, if you find it demoralizing that you think your team can build a better bot with mostly prefab parts as compared to original parts, then I recommend your team take the time and pull in the resources in the off-season to learn how to fabricate better than what can be bought. I understand that this will be a challenge, as you mention that you are a low resource team, but the other strategic planning that FRC teams face is in fundraising, sponsorships, and grants, not just a game. Do you happen to have any nearby teams that can help you make parts or help the students learn how to do so?

In the mean time, while the resources are low get as much COTS as can be afforded, and build a great robot. A "great robot" doesn't have to be an extreme performance machine, but rather is a machine that can be a valuable alliance member. How can you use your current resources to be a valuable alliance member? I feel like that question is more important than thinking about how it's built over how it performs.

Great teams don't happen overnight, and it will be a process that can take quite a few seasons. My team never got a blue banner until season 13.