"Essential Tools"

[neoshaakti]

Originally Posted by lukevanoort

A soldering iron, wire crimpers and strippers are very important to have for electrical work (not to mention their important uses for the juvenile humor that comes out after midnight). Although not necessary, a miter saw comes in very handy as does a drill press. A big bolt cutter and a deburring tool can be very useful too. A pop rivet gun and rivets can come in quite handy too. A Dremel can also come in handy, but most of its functions have already been covered by other tools mentioned in this thread. Oh, and get some hole saw bits, you'll need them for swiss cheesing the robot the day prior to ship .


I'd definitely get both. Even if you don't intend to use metric, FIRST may supply something that uses metric.

As for raw materials, you cannot go wrong with a bit of 1"x1" 1/8" wall thickness square 6061 aluminum tube, some 10AWG copper wire, white lithium grease, and various nuts and bolts. I'd be wary of stocking up on materials though--you never know what may become against the rules next year. (I'd say the chance of FIRST banning aluminum tubes, wire, grease, or bolts is pretty small though)

would a soldering iron be absolutely necessary? can u give me an example of a time when u've used a soldering iron when building the robot
would u crimp or solder when attaching wires to a vector

thanks