After Season Projects

[JakeGallagher]

Originally Posted by c-squared_2006

Well so is my team basically, we really need to recuit. I've noticed that many teams also had this problem. Does anyone have any suggestions? I mean all the people I've talked to if they're female they was cute guys on the team then they'll join. And for the males they want hot chicks on the team. We're hopeless both ways!!! (except for one girl, she has a boyfriend already), but HELP! So the other after season projects are going to definitely be fundraising.

Can we trade info? I'll tell you the amazing secret to getting more people on your team if you tell me what everyone left on your team is creating in the off-season. For example: Is there a specific project your team is going to market to get funds next season, like a machine developed to help out a person or business in your community?
Seriously, the only way I've been able to attract people to FIRST is by showing them what it is. You can't just go around telling everyone because there are some "Cool" people in the schools that really don't think FIRST is worth their time because "football is better." Try to get your message out across the town by making something useful for one of the public service groups, like the Police Station or the Fire Department. Sometimes you'll just get someone who didn't even know that the team existed.
That's how almost all of our members joined--word of mouth. I didn't know a thing about FIRST until the end of my freshman year, and I'm sad that I didn't know earlier.

Just to clarify: We're just working on putting together a site to showcase things that teams have made with spare parts and such. You may remember at Kickoff they showed a team that designed a contraption to help a guy in a wheelchair play Bocce so he could join the school Bocce team. We're looking for stuff like that, mainly.
I don't mean for you to stop posting about fund-raising ideas, because those are helpful too, but what we're looking for are the practical uses for old robot parts.

PS--What FIRST guy isn't cute? Take me for example... ;-)

[Amanda M]

Well, our team does a lot of stuff.

First off is our annual LEGO League Summer Camp, where we take parts of old FLL games, make our own and have elementary kids from around the county play it.

Then we have parades and such where we drive our robots down the street.

After that we start our pre-season machining. Last year we made 20 or so steam engines that work off the robot air compressor that you get in the kit. We're giving them out as awards.

I do marketing. Any questions about our marketing strategies, IM me. I don't want to change the subject on this thread.

I hope this has been helpful!

mandy

[CyberWolf_22]

We plan to use our fisher price motors to build fake segways as we can not afford real ones. One of them may have a gyro to stabilize but probably just casters. We have never used those motors so we have six in the shop (traded two).

[JakeGallagher]

Originally Posted by CyberWolf_22

We plan to use our fisher price motors to build fake segways as we can not afford real ones. One of them may have a gyro to stabilize but probably just casters. We have never used those motors so we have six in the shop (traded two).

That sounds really cool. I wish I had a segway (or even a custom-made knockoff ). When you get that done, send me some pics at the email mentioned above!
Anyone else have anything like this they would like to share?

[sanddrag]

I'm doing a gyro and software balanced fakeway and will be done by mid-May. At the start of the LA regional, we started designing a robot that will show people around a museum in India, that has to ship in a couple weeks. And a few days ago I started next year's shifting transmission design (which is almost done in Inventor) which we will be implementing for an off-season event like IRI. 12.5" Omniwheels may be a possibility as well.

[JakeGallagher]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I'm doing a gyro and software balanced fakeway and will be done by mid-May. At the start of the LA regional, we started designing a robot that will show people around a museum in India, that has to ship in a couple weeks. And a few days ago I started next year's shifting transmission design (which is almost done in Inventor) which we will be implementing for an off-season event like IRI. 12.5" Omniwheels may be a possibility as well.

Shifting transmission, eh? o.O that's really cool. If it weren't something that might be a team secret, I'd ask how you're doing it. Know what would be really cool though? Send us the specs of your fakeway whenever you're done with it. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there (like myself) who would love to build one of their own, and that's what Recycled FIRST is going to be about--sharing ingenius ideas that aren't completely competition oriented.

[Ryan F.]

I was wondering if anyone had any good pneumatics projects for someone wanting to learn. That's something I've really wanted to learn, but I've had no oppurtunity. We have this giant stack of Pneumatics equiptment in the back of our room. I'm also building a knockoff of Swampthings hovering robot (thanks for the great design idea).

Our team seems to disappear during the off-season, and then restart a little after school starts. something I'm hoping will change this year.

[Pat Roche]

[quote=rforystek]I was wondering if anyone had any good pneumatics projects for someone wanting to learn. That's something I've really wanted to learn, but I've had no oppurtunity. We have this giant stack of Pneumatics equiptment in the back of our room. I'm also building a knockoff of Swampthings hovering robot (thanks for the great design idea).

Our team seems to disappear during the off-season, and then restart a little after school starts. something I'm hoping will change this year.[/QUOTE


Not to limit people but i think what we are trying to get out of this post is some ideas like swampthings hovering robot. I know this year our team made our pit from all the PVC we had left over from 2001 and 2002. I know in the past ive heard ideas like a team building a pnuematic machine that crushes soda cans and they gave it to a local recyling center. Thats more along the lines of what we are looking for.....all ideas are still welcome. Please dont hold back criticism on the idea of the site either....this is sorta like the whole CD and FIRST community responding to this idea.

-Thanks

Pat

[Combat Chuck]

In the off season, we compete in the BEST Robotics competition. This is a fun competition for or team and a good way to introduce team members to robotics. We are also currently building miniature robotic submarines that grab washers off the bottom of a tank of water and then place them in a bucket.

[Rick Vogl]

Originally Posted by JakeGallagher

You may remember at Kickoff they showed a team that designed a contraption to help a guy in a wheelchair play Bocce so he could join the school Bocce team.

Just for the record Team 230 was responsible for the Bocce ball mechanism. A couple of our Engineers, Teachers, and Students made it off season last year. I really admire teams that manage to keep momentum in the off season. For the most part we tend to crash following the Championship and by the time FIRST withdrawal hits us we are scattered doing various other summer activities, including work, and do not tend to regroup until the fall. For all of the teams that manage to keep going ... keep up the good work.

http://www.shsrobotics.org

[JakeGallagher]

Originally Posted by Rick Vogl

Just for the record Team 230 was responsible for the Bocce ball mechanism. A couple of our Engineers, Teachers, and Students made it off season last year. I really admire teams that manage to keep momentum in the off season. For the most part we tend to crash following the Championship and by the time FIRST withdrawal hits us we are scattered doing various other summer activities, including work, and do not tend to regroup until the fall. For all of the teams that manage to keep going ... keep up the good work.

http://www.shsrobotics.org

Thanks for the clarification...I'm horrible with remembering the team numbers. Do you think you guys could send us some pictures and/or the system specs for your bocce mechanism?

[dw2364]

Originally Posted by JakeGallagher

Thanks for the clarification...I'm horrible with remembering the team numbers. Do you think you guys could send us some pictures and/or the system specs for your bocce mechanism?

I have posted pictures of the bocce shooter and they can be found at:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/pi...gle&picid=7467
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/pi...gle&picid=7466
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/pi...gle&picid=7465

More information will also be posted on the teams website shortly.If anyone wants more information please let me know.


The Bocce shooter
It consists of 3 wooden channels, one for the ball which is 5” wide and two smaller 3” channels in either side to hold the 4 bungees. And a metal block that rides along the inner channel that pushes the ball. It started off as just one wooden block that pushed the ball, with no motors. This was used to first see if it could launch the ball, and after a successful trial, it was then worked on to incorporate motors and switches. It was complicated, to first figure out how to pull the block back, and figured out that a lead screw would work the best. It is locked into the motor and on one end, and to the block at the other. As it turns, it slowly uses the torque from the motor to pull back the block. The lead screw works best, in that it takes a lot of force off of the motor and is thus able to pull the block back. The next problem to figure out was how to release the block from the screw and motor so that the bungees could take over and shoot the ball. This was accomplished by using 2 separate blocks, one that pushes the ball, and one that is attached to the screw. By putting a motor on the one that is attached to the screw, and putting a hook attached to the motor shaft that hooks into the other block, someone could hit a button to release the two blocks. 2 square tubes are attached to the shooter and special mounts that go onto the wheel chair. Tubes attach these two pieces thus allowing for a shock mechanism. Four casters were mounted on the bottom of the shooter for mobility.

-Two switches are used to control the bocce shooter. One moves it back and forth and the other is used to move the hook which releases the two blocks.

[Pat Roche]

Thanks everybody for sharing your ideas. This is great. With a few more responses/ideas we can take this to our schools computer tech people and our web team to get things rolling to make the webpage.

-Pat