FRC too easy...we're done :)

[Donny_Fresh]

ok so basically we've been working nonstop for the last 2 weeks on our robot and we have to say we are proud. it stands strong and strudy. very very amazing. we are so surprised to have finished the robot running and working efficiently. we're able to complete the task and score up to 80 points in the time givin, and thats excluding hybrid mode. so yea just to keep you guys updated...how's everyone else doing?

Fresh

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Donny_Fresh

ok so basically we've been working nonstop for the last 2 weeks on our robot ...

Well you'll have to scrap whatever you did in the first 4 days and start over. You are not allowed to build your robot before kickoff.

<R27> Prior to the Kick-off: Before the formal start of the Robot Build Season, teams are
encouraged to think as much as they please about their ROBOTS. They may develop
prototypes, create proof-of-concept models, and conduct design exercises. Teams may
gather all the raw stock materials and COTS COMPONENTS they want. But absolutely no
fabrication or assembly of any elements intended for the final ROBOT is permitted prior to
the Kick-off presentation
<R28> During the Build Season: During the period between the Kick-off and ROBOT shipment
deadline, teams are to design and fabricate all the COMPONENTS and MECHANISMS
required to complete their ROBOT. They are encouraged to use all the materials, sources
and resources available to them that are in compliance with the rules of the 2008 FIRST
Robotics Competition. When the ROBOT shipment deadline arrives, all work on the ROBOT
must cease and the ROBOT must be placed in a “hands-off” condition. The entire ROBOT
(including all FABRICATED ITEMS intended for use during the competition in alternative
configurations of the ROBOT) and OPERATOR CONSOLE must be crated and out of team
hands by the shipment deadline specified in Section 4.5.1.1.

[MiniNerd24]

2039 is half-way done with our prototype bot with [vague-ness] an arm, drive train, and electronics [/vague-ness] in other words by next week we should be 2/3 done with our robot.

How would everyone like to come to our house to play?

[Otaku]

Your bot's done, eh?

Lets see it, then.

[MrForbes]

We were in the same situation as you, then I woke up.....



now we're back to real life, with pretty much nothing made, but some preliminary designs that might actually work. It's almost time to order parts!

[JesseK]

-Design & create your pit
-Build your robot crate, and if you're feeling adventurous design it so that it is part of your pit
-Train some students on how to speak to judges professionally
-Create some code to make your bot do something whacky/fun in hybrid mode for one round
-Prepare BoM, business plan, website, scouting materials (you'll need them if you can solo 80 points), etc
-Fundraise for additional competitions
-Powder Coat the bot with your team's color and work on tshirts, themed giveaways, etc, all to help show of your team's image.

You are by no means done

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by squirrel

We were in the same situation as you, then I woke up.....



now we're back to real life, with pretty much nothing made, but some preliminary designs that might actually work. It's almost time to order parts!

Heh.

675's got one chassis built (out of two) and we're getting more parts for drivetrain/wheels/etc. Manipulatiors are being built (yes, plural, we have two designs being built simultaneously), machinists are being trained, stuff's getting done. EGADS. PRODUCTIVITY.

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by squirrel

We were in the same situation as you, then I woke up.....



now we're back to real life, with pretty much nothing made, but some preliminary designs that might actually work. It's almost time to order parts!

Ha! We're a day ahead of you! It IS time to order parts

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by JesseK

Ha! We're a day ahead of you! It IS time to order parts

Ha! We're a few days ahead of you! It's PAST time to order parts... we even have a non-kitbot chassis!

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by squirrel

We were in the same situation as you, then I woke up.....



now we're back to real life, with pretty much nothing made, but some preliminary designs that might actually work. It's almost time to order parts!

I actually had that dream last night too.....

[MrForbes]

We've been moving a bit slowly, since we have a couple working chassis now that we can use to prototype manipulators on. But we need to get some parts on the way in the next day or two for sure!

[1619Aaron]

Wow, you guys are insane. We got most of the designs made in Autodesk and our chassis is built. Programming has the gyro working on our old proto chassis . May seem slow but this is so much better than the past 3 years.

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by Otaku

Ha! We're a few days ahead of you! It's PAST time to order parts... we even have a non-kitbot chassis!

We had a prototype chassis last week. It's complete with PVC chain tensioners, wrong-sized omni wheels, and a broken weld! We're at least 10 days ahead of where we were last year in this regard.

Was really nice to see it fly down the hallway last night.

[BRAVESaj25bd8]

WOW! Great job guys! Congrats on finishing so fast, it's really impressive. I hope you take all of the suggestions you've seen throughout the thread and implement them. Also, you could think about talking to some nearby teams regarding a pre-ship practice. Also, I would recommend doing a lot of practice/troubleshooting time in the next few weeks. Don't wear the robot out but make sure that any parts that might break do (so you can fix them before competition). Remember that a key part of the engineering process is to design AND OPTIMIZE.

Once again, though, congrats on finishing so early. I'm sure your enthusiastic couple weeks of work will inspire at least a few others out there. Way to go!

[Alan Anderson]

The students were driving around the track at ludicrous speed yesterday, seeing how many laps could be done in two minutes. The Software group* has some code ideas for making the turns a little more coordinated. But since we want to be more than a rabbot(tm) this year, we've got quite a bit more work to do.


* Yes, there's a TechnoKats Software group this year. Multiple students have actually had their fingers on the keyboard and mouse, creating code for 1) the tabletop programming testbed, 2) a pneumatics demonstration setup, 3) our Mecanum drivebase, and 4) last year's practice 'bot/T-shirt cannon. Our previous student programmer graduated last year, but he's been visiting the shop regularly during his extended semester break, and he did some tweaking to our 2007 competition 'bot code as well.