What every team needs. . .

[Madison]

I'm sort of getting tired of reading about the qualification process. We'll all live with it and get used to it, whether or not we love it or hate it. Some fine suggestions have been made by people far more level headed than I, and I hope FIRST reads them and thinks about them.

Now, with that said, I'd like some help

What do you all think is absolutely necessary for a rookie team to have? I'm looking for anything here; hand tools, power tools, whatever. . .

Immediately, what jumps to mind is:

Screwdrivers
Ratchets (Metric and Standard)
Power Drill
Jigsaw
Rivet Gun
Wire Tie Gun
Hack Saw
Belt Sander
Soldering Gun
Wire Stripper
Crimping Tool
Pliers of all sorts
Vice Grips
Calipers
Tape Measure
Circular Saw
Chop Saw
Bench Grinder
Loc-Tite
Toolbox

Well, that's enough for now. Is there anything super important I'm leaving out?

Christina and I have some money from our College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and our high school has nothing to speak of. They didn't even know what FIRST was, really, until Tuesday morning.

We have access to the University's manufacturing and machining capabilities, but we're still going to need tools for small fixes and things at the competition site. If it's possible, I was thinking about using some of our money to get them started with tools and stuff.

Also, while I'm rambling. . . my high school (263 - Sachem Aftershock) had a platform donated to them a few years ago. They attached it to their cart, and it uses a hydraulic scissor lift to easily raise and lower the robot. Does anyone know where we can find one of these?

[Wayne Doenges]

Some other things you might consider:

Extra fuses, relays and speed controls
Extra screws, nuts and washers
Heat shrink tubing and heat gun
Dremel tool and bits (grinding, drill etc...) comes in real handy
Electrical tape
A set of nut drivers
Allen wrenches (metric and SAE)


Hope this helps

Let me be the first one to say good luck to your team

Wayne Doenges

[Scott Wolfe]

We got our lift cart from Grainger. You can check out their website www.grainger.com and order it online. One suggestion, make sure you get big enough wheels to get over all of the wires, cables , and bumps at competitions! We had to retro-fit big tires onto ours, now it's a beast but weighs almost as much as the robot! Best of luck!

[Wayne C.]

One of the things every team should have is a small, organized toolbox which can be carried onto the floor. If you get to the finals the rounds come quick and frantic so you have no time to go to the pits and find your tools.
We try to standardize as much of the hardware as possible. Parts which wear out easily are replicated and kept in the carry out box. Wire and zip ties too. Rember extra chain master links if you use chains. We use a tote tray with small drawers below- the tray holds 2 batteries as well and we have one person assigned to keep the tray handy and the batteries fresh.

We have also begun to add an extra spike relay and speed controller into our bank on the robot itself. If one blows at a critical time it is a simple thing to switch the leads and get back into play. One of the worst experiences we had in 2000 was blowing a spike relay in the finals at Epcot and frantically navigating the crowd to the pit for one. Delphi jumped in and gave us one and we are really thankful for that.

Also- mark your tools well because there tends to be a lot of loaning of stuff around the pits and some may never return. Not deliberate pilfering (I hope) but in the mess all tools look alike!

[Jeff Waegelin]

One suggestion: if you use allen bolts, use the same size wrench for as many of them as possible. It's easier when you only have one size of allen wrench to worry about. That way, you don't have to try 4 different sizes of wrench to find the right one.