Where did your team get its machine tools?

[scitobor 617]

Originally Posted by EricH

--and we are sponsored by a machine shop. If we have something small, we do it with hand tools, but if it's a big job, we usually tell the shop what we need done. I think we once thought about getting more tools, but that didn't happen (yet).

My team's tool situation is pretty similar. We have lots of wood working tools but not much for metal work. We also never seem to have sharp hacksaw blades. Last year we got a metal press(I think thats what its called). The ability to bend and cut sheet metal has been awesome, its allowed us to do some of the metal work ourselves, which shorted the time it took for many parts to be constructed. We also have three CAM machines that are for working plastics and light metals that were donated to the school in the early to mid 90's. The problem is that we don't have any of the software needed to run them so they set around and collect dust! Its very frustrating because we often give up on designs because it will take to long to get it made by our sponsor.

[sanddrag]

Since 2002 have been and still are partnered with Glendale Community College where we are able to do al our macining for the build. The students must enroll in the class, but they get a huge discount for being HS students. It comes to only about $30 for the class and parking for the quarter (incredible deal). Anyway, the instructor is a very cool guy and very accomadating to us. He will stay late, and come in on weekends, and the students are not required to do the class curriculum (because we are in a crunch to make parts). The shop has three HAAS CNC Mills, a HAAS CNC lathe, about 5 bridgeports, and about 6 manual lathes. Some of the machines have DRO which is very nice. There are also large horizontal and vertical bandsaws. The shop is quite incredible, but the instructor has other students to teach, and those other students need time on the machines too. So it is a shared resource.

Next door there is a welding shop that is able to do some stuff for us. They did a few welds for us this year in a pinch, but we got the frame beautifully TIG welded (like a roll of nickles) at the place where the machine shop instructor works. At this shop, they manufacture high performance racing bicycles all day every day, so getting in a few welds for us after hours wasn't a big deal, and they were the nicest welds I have ever seen.

In 2005, we also partered with a local machine shop (Tru-Cut) owned by the uncle of one of our students. They were a huge help this year since we had more machines parts then ever before.

We try to have the students do the majority of the machining. The only thing they don't do is the MasterCAM and GibbsCAM stuff because we don't have it at school, and it would take a good while to learn.

The only thing the students don't really do is the welding. It is one of those things where we are just better off leaving it to the pros. Also, we don't have a welder nor money for one so that has a lot to do with it.

For sheet metal, in 2004 we aquired a new professional in the industry as a team mentor. He sells lasercutting machines as a profession and he has several shops around the southland who are clients of his. And between them, we can usually get anything we need to lasercut and and bent on a press brake.


At the high school, we have a very small shop space. We have a chop saw and a floor drill press, and a bench grinder and that's about it for the big tools. We also have a large assortment of hand tools and a few power tools (circular saw, drill, angle grinder). So, we rely on our gracious partners for fabrication purposes.

The biggest challenge has been computers for Inventor. Currently we have ONE that we just recently acquired. I had to bring down my computer quite often simply because we didn't really have one to use. We relied on students laptops too. It made it hard to learn when their weren't many computers at the work site to use. The school was gracious enough to lend two students laptops which they could keep for the duration of the build and until after the regional, but they were hardly capable of running Inventor. It was miserable.

We don't have a good plan to remedy the computer situation. That's what we get when our workshop is a (shared) lab full of Apples but our single new donated IBM computer (which is totally free and clear of and no way associated with the school, only the team is a great start. I just hope the students are able to take care of it.

The one big problem is that if the school were to give us computers they most likely would have Novell and all sorts of other restrictions and stuff on them that would make it a nightmare to actually get any work done.

[EricH]

scitobor 617, we had the same problem this year. We ran out of spare hacksaw blades (I wore one out in about two hours cutting steel rod), so we got some more. I forget the brand, but it wasn't Buck Bros. and the blades were white. Haven't had to replace the blades since then. If you get several packages of blades, that should do you for a while.

[Rohan_DHS]

We used our school's lathes, and drill presses, and band saw, but all the tools (like wrenches, etc) were our Teacher/Advisor's tools. I think a couple of parts were sent to OPG (Ontario Power Generation...our main sponsor), and to Rapid Refregiration, since they have the appropriate machines to do the job

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by EricH

scitobor 617, we had the same problem this year. We ran out of spare hacksaw blades (I wore one out in about two hours cutting steel rod), so we got some more. I forget the brand, but it wasn't Buck Bros. and the blades were white. Haven't had to replace the blades since then. If you get several packages of blades, that should do you for a while.

I've hacksawed quite a few things before and I simply won't do it anymore unless there is not another tool made that will do the job. It is just plain tiring. Sawzalls have gotten so cheap these days that it is really in your best interest to get one. If you can afford a small horizontal (or even vertical, or maybe both) bandsaw that would be even better!

[[527]phil]

Our club bought a small band saw, and 2 small drill presses. But we also used my personal cnc mill. And if we ever need some really facy shmancy parts i have access to star swiss style cnc lathes.

[mechanicalbrain]

When you say we i think ME! I provided my own electrical tools solder iron, helping hand, dremel (trully the tool of the gods a must have for anyone who doesn't already have one), ect... actually were looking at going to a local navy research center to talk about using their waterjet, CNC machine, and other tools.

[AndyB]

our school had a metal shop class until they cut it because of budgeting reasons. thankfully, we were able to keep all of the machines for our robotics team.

If you have machinery in your school that is owned by the school solly for the use of robotics, then I recommend that you hold an open house to allow your school to see what you are using it all for and get them aware of robotics. Our team was in a bit of danger because our school wanted to put a printing press in where our metal shop is, but we held an open house and invited our sponsors, teachers, administrators, and parents, all to come and see what we were up to.

It can also get you a LOT of publicity.

[Daniel Morse]

Our school has a vocational technology center attached to it, and has a full machine shop (11 lathes, 6 mills, 3 CNCs, grinders, horizontal and vertical bandsaw). The catch is that only the adult mentors and specially trained students (students in the vocational machining class) are allowed to use it. I finally took the class and got my qualification this year.