Rookie team, wish I had that list!

[hooper102]

Originally Posted by jkelleyrtp

Intakes, intakes, intakes... They exist and can be used on boxes too!

Where? Andy mark is out and we do need one now that I see what it is.

[seg9585]

Originally Posted by hooper102

Where? Andy mark is out and we do need one now that I see what it is.

I think they meant intakes as a generic statement. You design your own intake system based on your robot config. Very few teams I know buy an off-the-shelf intake system

[DonRotolo]

After 12 years, I still would advise that never (ever) think you are ahead of the curve, so always act as if you're way behind. Keep the kids moving and productive best you can.

Oh, and 100 hours of driver practice with the finished robot "is not enough", so get them driving ASAP. Good drivers win matches. Good drivers without practice embarrass.

[GeeTwo]

The lists of tools are here on CD. One of the things we've found that improves our situation is standardization. Our team standardized on 10-32 and other SAE coarse thread sizes a couple of years ago, and the number of stripped nuts and bolts has dropped greatly, and we don't have to bring as big a box of nuts and bolts to the pits. Just last night, we formally standardized on 1/2" hex for driven shafts and 3/8" round for dead shafts. This will reduce the number of different shaft collars, hubs, and bearings we will need.

Standardizing doesn't mean that you never purchase any parts that do not meet these specs, but that any time we make the choice, this is what we use unless we have a very good reason to do otherwise. Counter examples include all of the KoP hardware, pneumatic hardware mounts (which are almost always fine thread), and motor mounts. Standardizing on fasteners also means that you can have all of the tools you're likely to need on the robot cart.

We've also standardized on electrical connectors -- anything between 2A and 40A is connected with Anderson Power Poles. Smaller stuff is usually molex (light current) or dupont (aka 0.1" pitch headers) connectors. Again, standardizing on connectors minimizes the number of crimp tools we might need.

[BeardyMentor]

Learn the wonders of rivets an rivnuts and do a little reading on design for manufacturing. Reducing the number of loose fasteners and special tools can make changing parts go from a competition ending set back to 5 minutes in the pit with no mentor involvement.

Next: Strategy First, then robot. Dont try and build a robot then figure out what to do with it.

Always order team branding items early during build season. Pins and T shirts are a lot cheaper and better when you dont have to shop around for the one place that can get the shirts to you before the first day of competition.

Buy lots of drill bits in the sizes you commonly use, but dont tell the kids you did that. Put them in a closet somewhere and dole them out as needed.

Bring tylenol/advil to the competion. You and the other mentors will need it.

Also, bring water and your caffeinated beverage of choice. And food, the event food usually sucks and has long lines to get it.

Dont plan on sitting down for more than a few minutes during your first competition.

Teams that do all the cool "extra stuff" and have a cool robot probably have a cool robot because the do all the extra stuff, not the other way around.

[Austin2046]

If you're going with the kitbot chassis and/or don't have a lathe than it may not be as important... but we use a lot of 1/2 inch hex shaft, 1/2 inch round flange bearings and 1/2 inch hex bearings... we use the shaft for our drive axles, collectors, shooters... anything that turns. Our first year we used round or keyed shafts, we did not know the wonders of hex shaft.

[MrBasse]

If you plan to put bearings in anything and don't have access to much for tools beyond a drill press, our world changed a huge amount when we got a set of annular cutters. They are fragile and have their odd things to figure out for use, but having a true, actual round hole that is exactly the size you want it to be (i.e. 1.125 for bearings) is priceless.

[Coach Seb]

Rookie Coach here too.... here a few things on top of my head after a FTC and this FRC season...

-small drill press, cordless drill, bandsaw, chop saw, sander...
-invest in a few good dewalt hex driver set.
-standardized with gearbox system you like... we are going all in on VexPro. Small store locally and the owner is the best. Very helpfull and always willing to give a hand in explaining some of this stuff.
-Standardizing on 1/2" hex shaft.
-We bought 2 computer station for 3d modeling....
-Got a Solidworks sponsorship... dont overestimate
-2 more for business purposes...

SO much more... my head has been cloudy for the last 6 months....

lol

[adciv]

I'm from the Electrical/Programming side of the house, so...

In general: Standardize your part & tools, regardless of what part its for. This helps reduce parts counts and tool count. Where this helps is that you don't have to keep a lot of different parts on hand or take them with to competition. It also means you get good at telling the difference between what you have. "Gee, is that a 7/32 or a 1/4?" This saves on cost & time in the long run.

Electrical:
Learning how to make your wiring neat:
- Anderson Powerpole Connectors
- Learn to make your own PWM wires
- Zipcord (black & red wire fused together)
This will make your robot reliable. Birds nests tend to contribute to failures and troubleshooting issues.

Programming:
- How to use a gyro to ensure your robot drives straight in Auto
- That "laptop" which came in the Kit of Parts? Ditch it. Get 2x ~$500 laptops (One for programming, one for driverstation).
- Figure out a language to use and stick with it. Develop a library of commonly used functions. Practice in the off season and learn an architecture to use for development.
- Sensors aren't just for Autonomous. The programmers job is to make the drive teams life easier during a match.

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by adciv

Electrical:
Learning how to make your wiring neat:
- Anderson Powerpole Connectors
- Learn to make your own PWM wires
- Zipcord (black & red wire fused together)
This will make your robot reliable. Birds nests tend to contribute to failures and troubleshooting issues.

Programming:
- How to use a gyro to ensure your robot drives straight in Auto
- That "laptop" which came in the Kit of Parts? Ditch it. Get 2x ~$500 laptops (One for programming, one for driverstation).
- Figure out a language to use and stick with it. Develop a library of commonly used functions. Practice in the off season and learn an architecture to use for development.
- Sensors aren't just for Autonomous. The programmers job is to make the drive teams life easier during a match.

I'd have to disagree with most of this for a 1st year or even a second year team. Most rookies are tight on funding and while power poles and parallel bonded wire (it is not zip cord that is for lamps and other home appliances) is great it is best to use what you have and save that money for something else in your rookie year. Ditto for making your own PWM cables, again that is nice but they should have what they need to make the robot run w/o the extra expense of the tools and parts to make your own.


Yes better lap tops would be nice but again $1000 is a ton of money for a rookie team. Better to stick with the classmate as the driver's station for now and if students have their own lap tops or if there are school ones available use those for programming.

I do agree that if they have the bonus gyro that was included with the 2nd round FIRST Choice then try and use it IF and only IF they have everything else under control. Ditto for sensors, IF and only IF they have everything under control should a rookie team try to mess with sensors. I also agree that sticking with one language and perfecting it is the best plan of action. Now once the off season is here then have programmers that are returning next season play with Gyros and sensors if they didn't make it that far in the competition season.

I also agree that they should find a language that works for them and stick with it, once they have identified that language which may mean trying different languages. Many times teams start with Labview and that is great for a rookie team with inexperienced programmers. However once there are programmers that have experience or if you have programmers that have previous experience with Java or C++ then starting and sticking with one is best. Most likely Java as that is more commonly taught in high schools.

[Mr V]

There have been some good ideas so far.

The most important thing in my opinion is to connect with a veteran team to act as your mentor team. I've previously suggested for you to get in contact with your FIRST Senior Mentor and have them connect you with a team. FSMs know the teams in your area and who will be a good mentor team (and hopefully one that will be at the same event). Embrace the FIRST culture of Coopertition, do not fight it. Yes, getting buy-in from the students can be a challenge.

A mentor team will let you borrow/give you needed parts. They will let you use tools you don't have yet, manufacture parts at their facility and/or manufacture parts for you. They will also review your designs for potential problems, suggest tweaks to make it stronger/better performing ect. When you get to the event and something breaks it is nice to have that familiar helpful team to get you through it. Yes lots of teams at the event will be willing to help but one with prior knowledge of your team, your resources and your robot is nice.

Some things that haven't been mentioned that I share with rookie teams.

The most important by far It is far better to do one or a few things well than doing everything poorly or not quite at all. Your chances of getting picked for finals is greater if you can consistently do that one or few tasks and can be counted on to consistently score ~X points rather than doing good a couple of matches but also doing nothing or next to nothing other matches.

Create a pre match check list and ensure it is done every time. Important check list items.

Fresh battery
Reset robot
If you have pneumatics make sure the valve is closed, system charged.
If you have to position the robot in a particular manner ensure it is before you put it on the field.
General inspection.
Damaged items
Look for loose nuts and bolts.
Things that were knocked out of place ect.

Capitalize on the event and post event enthusiasm. Get parents to the event so they get enthused too. As a rookie team in TX I'm betting you got started in part by a Texas Workforce Commission and/or other rookie grants that will drop in value and eventually go away. After the event is a great time to start fund raising for next season and engage those parents who said "this is so cool I wish I could help but I'm not an engineer" once they have seen the spectacle that is an FRC event.

Set a realistic definition of success for a first year team. Winning it all is unlikely so if that is your only definition of success then your students are likely to be discouraged. Putting a robot on the field that contributes every match is a realistic goal for a rookie team.

For most teams the 2nd year is the hardest.

In your first year you are blessed with the fact that you don't know what you don't know. So you keep on plodding along and your expectations of what your robot can do are low. Once you've been to an event and have seen all of the great robots and all they can do the natural desire is to shoot for the moon. The problem is those top robots you see are usually created by teams that have great institutional knowledge built up over 3, 5 or more years. (this is why you want that veteran mentor team with that knowledge) So while you should certainly try for a more complex robot your second year you need to keep in mind the "do one thing well" motto.

The other problem that many second year teams face is rapid growth in team size. When the number of students increases significantly it can be hard to keep everyone engaged, and ensure that everyone is learning something, having fun and their knowledge is growing. This is the point I'm really struggling with on my second year team. Our first year we had 13 students and we now have 37. Note, I'm struggling with this one and while this is the 2nd year for my current team it is my 8th season in FRC and I'm a FSM so I knew it was coming.

[philso]

Originally Posted by adciv

Electrical:
Learning how to make your wiring neat:
- Anderson Powerpole Connectors
- Learn to make your own PWM wires
- Zipcord (black & red wire fused together)
This will make your robot reliable. Birds nests tend to contribute to failures and troubleshooting issues.

Teaching that the person doing the crimping should perform a pull test immediately after each and every crimp then having a second person verify that the connections are correct and do a second pull test will contribute more to the reliability of your robot more than any particular type of connector that you use.

Labeling the wires, connectors and other components are an important troubleshooting aid.

I personally do not recommend using the zipcord. If the lugs or Anderson contacts are not crimped on exactly evenly, one gets a "bump" in the wiring due to the two wires not being able to move relative to each other. Twisting the wires together keeps the wires together (like zipcord) but allows them to slip a bit if the lengths are not exactly the same. I have also found that a lot of the zipcord has insulation that is stiffer than on single wires making it more awkward to route.

[vhcook]

These are probably the things that would have made the biggest difference in my rookie season:

In the general case, the wire sold by automotive supply stores is considerably more flexible and easy to work with than wire sold by hardware stores.

Gearboxes apparently need to be greased. (My rookie-year team, which is not my current team, had a lot of electrical experience but a shortage of mechanical types.)

If there is a mathematical possibility that you might end up as one of the top 15 robots at the end of qualifications, you need to be preparing in case the student you send out for alliance selection ends up as an alliance captain and has to choose. (This didn't happen to my team, but I've seen a few surprised rookies find themselves on the field selecting with no preparation when teams above them chose each other, and it's always painful to watch.)

Plexiglass shatters, use Lexan (a.k.a. polycarb) instead.

Loctite eats plastic.

Checklists are your best friend.

Drink more water - dehydration is a serious risk at events. Make sure the drive team is also drinking plenty of water.

[lpickett]

I always say we need to buy stock in ty-raps. We use a lot to secure things. Velcro is also a nice thing to have. Several rolls of gaffers tape, duct tape and painters tape. You should have several taps and tap handles to go along with the drill bits you will go through. Teach the students to be careful when tapping holes so you don't break a lot of taps. Always start out with wood prototypes. It is easier to get scrap wood from people and you don't waste money on metal until you decide on your final design. A lot of plexiglass is also nice. Ask your parents, mentors and sponsors for donations of tools, equipment and material. I donated a full tool box when my husband died. I am still going through items that we can use from time to time. Good luck and continue to use Chief Delphi for any help you need.

[GreyingJay]

Originally Posted by adciv

- That "laptop" which came in the Kit of Parts? Ditch it. Get 2x ~$500 laptops (One for programming, one for driverstation).

This year's rookie kit contained an Acer Aspire E11 which is actually a pretty decent little driver station computer. I would not count on it as my primary or only FRC computer, of course, but it beats the pants off any Classmate.