Build Season in the Classroom

[lukevanoort]

We've moved around at our school. For the first four years, the team built in the back of one of the teacher's rooms. In 2005, the school administration allowed us to use about 2/3 of a vacant classroom. In 2006, we were able to move to a room in the basement (a more convenient location for everything except testing actually) and we got that whole room to ourselves (I think that whole room might actually be smaller than the 2/3 of a room we had in 05, but at least it is all ours), plus access to a bit of extra space in an adjoining room that is used for storage. A little tiny room (probably used to be a janitors closet) off of the storage room is used for storing Vex stuff and has a few old computers running Ubuntu in it. Unfortunately, we've never been able to work in a sponsor's shop or had access to a machine shop.

[Alalea]

We use a classrooom, but we have a workshop on one half, so it's good

[pafwl]

I soooo feel your pain we build in the Biology Lab at our school. We have no precision machining equipment. I guess that is why we build a lot out of 80/20 do not need a lot of equipment to construct with that. We get by though as I am sure you do. Personally who cares it all about the kids anyway and the looks on there faces when something works. It is just awesome.

[neoshaakti]

yeah we also work in a classroom, a chemistry lab to be more specific. It's not that bad actually...sure we don't have any heavy machinery, but the lab tables provide a good surface to work on...

[MasterChief 573]

We have been given the convienience of some machinerey (bandsaw, sawzal, drill press) but yeah nothing too cutting edge or even average of most teams. We cut our metal and send it off to get welded to make the chassis.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by MasterChief 573

We have been given the convienience of some machinerey (bandsaw, sawzal, drill press) but yeah nothing too cutting edge or even average of most teams. We cut our metal and send it off to get welded to make the chassis.

More than we do...Chopsaw and drill press here. Plus hand tools.

[Alalea]

We're really lucky, since we have a lot of equipment (I think). I know we have a welder that is "great" (XD long story), but other than that...*shrugs I know we have hand tools and stuff.

[kjhobin]

We have traditionally have built most of the robot in our schools auto shop and then finished at a small (basic) machine shop in my garage. Unfortunately, that has changed a little since our shop mentor has to leave early and we have no one who is "shop certified" to supervise us. So, more and more of the robot has been built in my garage.

The shop is useful to build during the school day and we have so decent equipment there (bandsaw, power tools, lathes, bridgeport mill, tig) but its not amazing ( no CNC :-( ). The tig usually get brought to my hose so we can still weld.

This year, my dad bought a warehouse space for his small construction company, so we had a lot of space to build a practice field and just work. the only dray back it is it is that it is a 15 min drive form the high school to the next town over. we were mostly there towards the end of build when we were doing a lot of testing.

[Cleinhun]

We just use a regular classroom, so we have to move all of the desks outside and vacuum the carpet every day. We do have a drill press and a buffer on carts, so it's not all bad.
The thing is, there is a nearly vacant (only a few periods of study hall) classroom that has no carpet, fewer desks, and more storage space, that the school won't let us use.

[JOhnch181]

we our lucky to have three classrooms to work in. (workshop, classroom, Comp. Lab) we also get a darkroom that they don't use any more for storage. We don't have a lathe though so we have an alumni get it done at his work and another alumni to do our welding.

We also use the garages of our mentors to work out of when a teacher cannot open the school for us.

[Blue_Mist]

Connected woodshop (S-2) and drafting classrooms (S-1) that we claim for our own on weekends and after school and a shelf of computers in S-1 that we only use for the monitors (we swap out mouse, keyboard and box every build session). Connected to S-1 is the place with all of our stuff, The Infamous Closet. The Closet is packed full of tools, general supplies and materials, chaotic organization, a rather temperamental MIG welder, ancient woodshop tools and leaks with Stack Attack bins under them.

As for tools, we have a happy chop saw, a serene table saw, an irritable drill press, an inanimate wood press, a musical band saw (all of which are for wood- we cut aluminum ) and most fun of all, a spark saw (ceramic blade) for steel in the woodshop. In the drafting room we have a drill press and a band saw whose blade needs replacing. And of course, various hand power tools. Luckily we have recently added The TechShop as one of our sponsors and were able to have things milled and almost entirely welded (we were able to MIG weld a little bit at home S-1).

On the second to last night before Ship Date, we managed to get permission and supervision to sleep over in the woodshop. The build sessions were scheduled for 9am to 9pm or later anyway. It was oddly fun to sleep under the shelter of a table saw, and a little alarming to find that no one felt the least bit strange sleeping at school.

[engunneer]

I mentor for a team that works out of the physics room (which used to be Chemestry a while ago). The Physics teacher has a key to the industrial area, allowing us to use drill presses and bandsaws.

It's a far cry from my old team that met in the school's metal shop (mill, lathe, welder) that was located between the wood shop and the computer lab.

It's a running joke that we "mill" parts with files.

Oh, and I work at a waterjet manufacturer, so add waterjet to the list. (87,000 psi cuts anything quickly compared to files.)

[=Martin=Taylor=]

We built our 2008 robot in my garage. We have MUCH better tools in there and we can work as long as we want, when we want.

It was however, somewhat frustrating to NEVER be able to escape robotics .

We built our 2007 robot in two places: an abandoned and very creepy old garage, and the Tech Shop. We found many interesting things in this abandoned garage... Some which will not be discussed... Among other things we discovered a TIME magazine in which JFK was the man of the year . That’s literally how long this garage had been abandoned. There were MASSIVE stacks of rusting tools. There was literally so much stuff only three people could fit inside.

[Doug G]

Originally Posted by Cleinhun

We just use a regular classroom, so we have to move all of the desks outside and vacuum the carpet every day. We do have a drill press and a buffer on carts, so it's not all bad.
The thing is, there is a nearly vacant (only a few periods of study hall) classroom that has no carpet, fewer desks, and more storage space, that the school won't let us use.

I've seen your work area and definitely feel for you. For the first 3 years we had just this 10' x 20' room to do everything in, or my classroom across campus.

http://www.travisusd.k12.ca.us/vande...rExtrusion.jpg

In 2004 we managed to get a 3 in 1 Mill/Drill/Lathe and a welder and found this garage on campus to put those in...

http://www.travisusd.k12.ca.us/vande...s/DSC02110.JPG

Having your robot stuff in multiple areas gets to be annoying, so last year we found some space behind our wood shop / auto shop and put up a 20' x 30' building (with 12' ceilings) with the help of our shop teacher...

06-07 with just the framing and roof done then we ran out of $$... http://www.travisusd.k12.ca.us/vande...n/DSC04978.JPG

07-08 had some more $$ so we finished walls, wiring and lights.... http://www.travisusd.k12.ca.us/vande...n/DSC07118.JPG

My response is not brag, but more to say that don't ever settle for what one person in charge at your school may say where you should be. Find a solution that benefits your team. For some it is too build in a mentor's personal garage (like 100) or others is to build in a sponsors facility, and for some being in a classroom may work out just fine. Always be on the look out for a solution that may require thinking out of the box, always a FIRST attitude

[ZakuAce]

We did all of our work in three rooms. We used the woodshop and our Robotics room (yea, a room JUST for robotics ^_^) The machines in there are pretty old, but it is better than nothing.