We have 2 bots that are VERY close. The competition bot though is so much better quality. The practice bot has never met Mr. Loctite and is always at the edge of flying apart. Has a ton of extra holes where we tried something, has 2nd hand motors, etc. It also has dents where we determined at what speed hitting the rock wall would actually launch us completely in the air landing with a scary sounding thud.
Poor thing is the abused older brother. The younger competition bot has new motors (just got all new drive motors), everything is loc-tited and only has the needed holes.
Overall... the secret is PROTOTYPING! Design is an iterative process. Do some basic design in your head. Build it. Test it. Improve it. Repeat until satisfied. - JVN [more] 
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