Where do you actually build your robot and who does the building???

[Joseph F]

Our robot (StART team 506) is built almost entirely by students. I'd say 90-95% of it is student built and about 97% student designed with occasional engineer modification suggestions.

We are a bit low on both space and resources. We build our robot in a physics classroom in our school. We have to completely clear it out each night for the next days classes and then take everything out again after school to build and work more. Our most presice tool is probably our countertop drillpress.

I admit I would love to have some of the tools that the teams with machine shops have access to, or at least a room to leave stuff out in, but it is interesting to see how much we can do with what we have. Last year (our rookie year) we placed 3rd out of 13 rookies and 17 out of 33 overall.

I know someone mentioned they don't want this post turning into a "spirit of first" type thing but I do feel that competition and winning aside, doing the work with little help from engineers is more enjoyable and more interesting than having a marvelous robot that was almost totally built by engineers. As far as i'm concerened the true objective is to have fun any way possible so long as it does not prohibit or decrease the fun of others involved.

[65_Xero_Huskie]

We have a GM Powertrain central building right down the street from our school and we go there during FIRST season to build.

And yes, our students design, build, and manufacture the robot. We have the adults do the bulk of the work in the machine shop but we are able to do some of it.

[techie_Britt]

We build our bot in our coach's room. It's a trailer out behind the school, the tech drawing room. And YES, we most deffinatley build our own bot, we're awesome! =)

[Royalpride1070]

For FVC, our team (1070) builds it in a small classroom...or each other's houses.. at that point.. with very little parts.. it's pretty easy. and our students build our FVC bot. so i'm proud of us .

For FRC, since we are definitely talking about a lot of BIG machines and bigger parts.. then we work at a lab at CSUN, cuz our high school doesn't have one for us. and our students build the robot, with a little help from our mentors for ideas and tips on if we're doing something wrong. But YES we build our ROBOt!

[chris31]

This year we will be working in a classroom. Kinda a bummer as studnets use it so we will have to clean up after each meeting. Also its a biology lab so its not like theres any machining equitment in it.

[team1852]

Last year we built our robot in a team member's garage . This year we've been in touch with the district in hopes of getting our own workshop and we'll know the verdict sometime this week.

As for who builds the robot - its a combined effort. We have the students and the mentors working together.

[Jeff Waegelin]

It was interesting going back through this thread and seeing some people I hadn't heard from in a long time...

Anyways, here with the Rat Pack, we build our robot out of the high school metal shop. The school shop teacher and our group of college mentors lead the build process, but the high school students do most of the work. We don't have much engineering assistance at the moment, so we basically do the whole thing ourselves. We can't do as many fancy things, but it's great experience for the kids.

[Mike Schroeder]

holy rusted thread revival batman

umm 1923 more or less built a good portion of their robot in team 25's lab, because the school is umm weird, but we think we have fixed that

[James Crivellone]

We (Team 360) build our robot at Metal Marine Pilot (they make autopilots for boats)

We have access to a large assembly line, so we have electrical components, building components, basically everything. We also have a machine shop and everything. hehe

Students (like myself) build the robot, we also have a $@#$@#$@#$@#$@#$@#$@# advisor (Stoke - Dawg) who works with us =)

[Bill Gold]

The Sea Dawgs build at Lincoln High School, and a student member's house (she has a mill, lathe, etc. in her garage). The students are doing almost all of the building. The only things they aren't building are our wheels. Our sponsor, Applied Materials, made our wheels. The students also do al of the assembly.

[Anton Abaya]

we build the robot (we being the college students). the high school students are ninnies: lazy, ritalin underdosed, or unmotivated, or even undependable.

i believe they prefer a "winning robot" than one built by hs students.

furthermore, none of the students are able to actually meet during the late hours, which is when the engineers meet.

if it were up to them, i'd laugh (and also be on the slopes rather than at the shop during my weekends).

-anton

ps. in the end, they do learn from the experience nonetheless.

[mnkysp6353]

Team 702 builds there robot at our high school. We stole the autoshop from all of the autoshop students that are too high to notice. They barely noticed that we moved a mill, laith, drill press, chop saw, and a band saw. I think they were to into watching day time tv. The ENTIRE robot is student built, our advisor points out that engineers are not there to do your work only point out your mistakes. And laugh.

[Dave_222]

Our robot is built at our school and it is done mainly byour mentors but we students weigh heavily on the desighn and desighn process. We also help build .

[aka Scott White]

Team 555 builds its robots, not the engineers, and not the machinists. We had a frame made from a machine shop, and a machinist helped assemble and build our gear box, but all actual assembling of our robot is done by the students, for better or worse, in our robotics "lab," a room in the basement full of broken furniture, tools, and a confused, displaced driver's ed teacher.

It really burns me up to see teams with teams of engineers who don't let the students even touch the robot, let alone carry it to the field or make repairs. There's no FIRST spirit in that.

[Stephanie]

On team 668, a couple of the parents like to do alot of the designing. There are only 1 or 2 students who help with that. Another couple of them like to help us build and machine parts, and there is a core of about 5-8 students who do alot of the building. I've noticed tho, that most of the girls take part in chairmans or animation. Personally, I'd like to see more girls who really get into building, and actually help with the bot, instead of just me and one or two other females. well, more *students*...