pic: 100% Student Built

[CD47-Bot]

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[JP_1163]

That's what it's supposed to look like! Wonderful look at inspiration and appreciation in action. Congrats to the students who are putting theory into practice!

[sanddrag]

Last year our entire robot was about 98% student built. We bragged about this for the longest time but at the competition the judges weren't very impressed. In fact they seemed kind of disappointed. The reason behind this is that any bunch of kids can get together and make something but what is special about FIRST is the interaction with professionals in the industry.

I believe the judges look for the relatinship between student and mentor to be somewhere around a 1/3 mentor 2/3 student work load.

[Lord Nerdlinger]

Originally Posted by CD47-Bot

Thread created automatically to discuss this image in the Picture Gallery.

The "student" who's hand is on the bottom right corner needs to wear some anti aging cream... those hands look a bit wrinkly for a high schooler ..

[Mark Pettit]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Last year our entire robot was about 98% student built. We bragged about this for the longest time but at the competition the judges weren't very impressed. In fact they seemed kind of disappointed. The reason behind this is that any bunch of kids can get together and make something but what is special about FIRST is the interaction with professionals in the industry.

I believe the judges look for the relatinship between student and mentor to be somewhere around a 1/3 mentor 2/3 student work load.

991 had a similar experience where we were bragging to a judge that we did all of the work ourselves and she chastised us for not having an engineer on board. I know all of the ideals of FIRST but it was almost like they would rather have the robots be 100% engineer built (you know who you are) than for the students to do everything.

This year, we put the word out everywhere we could and one of the parents found a neighbor that was a retired ME. We couldn't be happier. We still get to be student-built, but now we're in compliance.

[Stu Bloom]

Sorry to do this ... but I really can't believe no-one else beat me to it ...

WHERE'S YOUR SAFETY GLASSES ??

[Joe Matt]

Good job, I know how hard it is not the get mentors to just build it all, but remember, it's a collaboration between students and mentors that is what FIRST is about. For every Sparky since the beginning, students have done most of the work, while the mentors have guided us and acted like bumpers in a game of bumper bowling. You can go everywhere within them, but they keep you from failing. Our ONLY time we ever have only mentors working on something is when we weld (no student welding masters here) or we send something to the shop for building. All of our CAD that tells shops what to do is 100% student made.

To sum it up, it's the working between students and mentors that is key to FIRST, and if you go too much on either side, you loose the focus of what FIRST is about, INSPIRATION and RECOGNITION of what scientists and engineers do at work, not inspiration and recognition of how to build a robot.

[ngreen]

Originally Posted by Stu Bloom

Sorry to do this ... but I really can't believe no-one else beat me to it ...

WHERE'S YOUR SAFETY GLASSES ??

Yeah, we don't take pictures w/o our safety glasses....We have to do retakes.

[David Kelly]

Originally Posted by ngreen

Yeah, we don't take pictures w/o our safety glasses....We have to do retakes.

It doesnt matter if you are taking pictures or not, you should be wearing safety glasses at ALL times when around or near the robot!!! We have rules that say you are not allowed to enter the shop without safety glasses. Not everybody follows it at all times, but our mentors and engineers are really trying to enforce it this year and it's great that they are there to help us because some of them have seen what can happen first hand if you dont wear them. Safety should never be taken lightly!!!

[JVN]

Originally Posted by Stu Bloom

Sorry to do this ... but I really can't believe no-one else beat me to it ...

WHERE'S YOUR SAFETY GLASSES ??

No safety glasses needed!
There are no mentors there to NAG the students about safety and such... this one is 100% student built, and they're proud of it.

Who needs safety glasses?
Every HS kid in America is invincible (until proved otherwise).

[Crop-Circles]

My team has shifted dramaticly over the pas three years. My first year, I didn't see the completed robot until our first competition. Last year, however, the robot was over 90% student built, but our robot struggled to move. Having seen both sides, I would say that either a 100% student run team or a 100% mentor run team can be very successful in achieve FIRST's goals. Students on a mentor run team get see exactly what it's like to be an engineer and can still get exited about it. Students on a student run team get more first hand experience on what its like to be an engineer(that is, if they have at least one mentor guiding but not at all building), although it's a little less accurate, and can also get excited. The purpose is to inspire. Whether the robot is student built or mentor built doesn't matter, as long as their still getting kids exited.

Long story short, it's not about who, it's about how.

That said, our team decided this year the "how" is easiest if both students and mentors work on the robot.

As for saftey glasses, their much more fun to wear if you custumize them.

[David Kelly]

Originally Posted by Crop-Circles

Students on a student run team get more first hand experience on what its like to be an engineer(that is, if they have at least one mentor guiding but not at all building), although it's a little less accurate, and can also get excited.

I'm sorry but real engineers that work at big manufacturing corporations harldy if ever get to touch a machine. All most of them do is draw and plan out everything for a part and/ or a system. They leave the actual machining to the union and blue collar workers.

[Amanda Morrison]

I don't know that I totally agree with either of you. While a student run and student build robot provides engineering experience, like David said, a lot of real-world engineers do a lot of designing and behind-the-scenes work.

But CERTAINLY, it does not mean that these students aren't getting invaluable experience. Keep up the good work (and put on those glasses!)

[Joel Glidden]

A few days ago, I missed when I was putting on my safety glasses and I jammed the earpiece in my eye.

MORAL: Always wear safety glasses when you're putting on your safety glasses.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Joel Glidden

A few days ago, I missed when I was putting on my safety glasses and I jammed the earpiece in my eye.

MORAL: Always wear safety glasses when you're putting on your safety glasses.

Done that one before. Luckily I do wear saftey glasses (my own glasses) before putting on saftey glasses.

We have a rule that we made up that works really well for saftey glasses. If you are within ten feet of a running motor, bolt being cut, or tensioned spring, you are wearing safety glasses. It is the simplest general rule that works the best.

Also, in our shop we see normal (polycarb lense) glasses as acceptable as safety glasses. Unless the student feels unsafe (like standing in a rainshower of chips while cutting aluminum with a blade intended for wood or while cutting wood and making a ton of sawdust) then normal glasses are alright.

Here is our reasoning, In most cases, something will not come from the top, bottom, or sides of your glasses and into your eye. In all of dangerous chip flying and dust cloud experiences I've never gotten anything in my eye wearing normal glasses. Also, it is very difficult to see through both glasses and safety glasses and can cause a headache after a while. Clear vision is more important when using tools because there is greater risk of cutting your finger off than risk of something flying in your eye.

Anyway, whatever you are doing be sure to have some sort of eye protection on. My normal glasses have saved my eyes more than a few times.