Tell Me About Your Pit

[anushad]

2876 is pretty proud of its pit (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgLem7rUUAA5_4E.jpg:large).

The five most important things in the pit are
1. Empty space for the robot and pit crew members
2. Table space for tools, programming etc. (the shop in the box we have has table space and a vice on it)- we also use large boxes for bringing in batteries and materials so that we can use that as table space.
3. Designated areas and enough (but not too much) mechanical, electrical, and programming supplies.
4. Designated areas for safety and strategy equipment that the entire team is aware of and has access to.
5. Banners and displays to make the team visible and exciting (and buttons/giveaways in the front corner so they don't interfere with robot transport and maintenance)

[D.Allred]

Pits only function if they are clean and organized. Here's a slightly different take on the list. (I stretched the top 5 a bit.)

1. Empty space. Git rid of tables unless you plan to do major upgrades or build something. We use our cart as a temporary table if needed. Otherwise, table tops attract junk. We also use the competition machine shop and only bring hand tools.
2. Robot cart. You need a cart anyway, so make it a functional part of your tool storage system.
3. Rolling battery charging station. Make a compact battery charging station for you robot batteries and hand tool batteries. It needs to roll if you plan on going to the playoffs.
4. Rolling tool boxes with a vise. Limit the amount of tools needed by having standard fasteners.
5. Spare parts / raw material system. We have small parts organizer boxes for fasteners and control system spares. Raw stock is in a bin attached to the side of the tool box.
6. Task lighting.
7. Branding system.

David

[lark95]

The pit that we use was built in 2012. we have used it ever since then and it has worked great for us. We have 4 cabinets mounted on the back wall above 4 tool chests that hold all of out tools. On one wall we have rack that holds 6 tool belts that drive team and pit crew members can use for matches in case a quick repair or something is needed. We also have a rolling cabinet we made that has 6 built in chargers and an outlet to plug in two more portable ones. We also have 2 computer monitors mounted to the front of our pit that we can plug a laptop into for things like out match schedule.

edit: We also built in a big power strip so that we have 8 outlets all around the pit. One of the other things about the structure is that the upper halfs of all the walls are pegboard. We use this to store anythings from files to extension cords. Super useful.

[Tal_Esh]

After working on this year's pit I have realized its importance for:
- Charging Batteries
- Robot fixing
- Presentations for judges
- Team morale!

So I would say:
1. Good and reasonable space managment
2. Batteries charging dock and easy-access-but-not-interrupting storage
3. Easy-access-but-not-interrupting storage
4. Team resources for explaining about the team and the robot
5. Safe working space


*looking for a good picture of our pit, will upload soon

[Chief Hedgehog]

Originally Posted by PayneTrain

4 is largely optional unless your local events provide really insufficient house lighting, and 2 can be accomplished outside of your pit.

You should tell that to the DECC and UofM

[Drewit]

Ignoring the robot, people, and the driver station, the five things that I believe are necessary for our pit are (in no particular order):

• Toolboxes - All FRC robots require some degree of maintenance, so a toolbox full of tools relevant to the robot and organized for easy retrieval is essential. Having the toolboxes be rolling toolboxes make loading/unloading easy. Ours are currently COTS (and painted to match team colors), but others like Team 1619, Team 365, and Team 973, have custom toolboxes.
  
• Safety Supplies/Strategies - Sometimes overlooked, safety supplies are a necessity to ensure injuries get treated quickly before they worsen, and safety strategies (i.e. making sure nobody is in the robot before enabling, making sure people won't get hit by moving robot parts, securing controllers before enabling, disabling the robot if someone does something unexpected that puts them in harms way, etc.) help to prevent injuries before they happen. A first aid kit, battery spill kit, and some safety strategies are a must at minimum.
  
• Spare Parts - FIRST is a contact sport, and I am a believer in the full version of Murphy's Law: Anything bad that can happen will happen at the worst possible moment. Things are going to break, so it's important to plan ahead and bring any spares you believe will be necessary while respecting the rules for spare parts allowances.
  
• Batteries and Chargers - FRC batteries deplete rather quickly, so having charged batteries on standby helps ensure pits run smoothly. We currently bring our batteries and chargers in totes, but other teams like 1619 (see link above) and 973 (see link above) have dedicated carts for battery and charger storage.
  
• Sponsor Recognition - FRC is not cheap, and it takes a lot of sponsors to fund a FRC team, so thanking them for their support is extremely important! In our pit, we do this in two ways: Having a dedicated sponsor banner in the back of the pit up at the 10ft limit, and/or having a computer and monitor run digital sign software (we use Xibo) that cycles through photo/video libraries with the sponsor library playing multiple times during a cycle.

Note: My comments are my own and may not represent the teams that I am involved with.