How important is a machine shop?

[archiver]

Posted by P.J. Baker at 05/17/2001 11:06 AM EST


Engineer on team #177, Bobcat Robotics, from South Windsor High School and International Fuel Cells.


In Reply to: a robot without welding is a day without sunshine...
Posted by Joe Johnson on 05/16/2001 9:06 AM EST:



In his post below, Tom correctly points out that we used much less weld than usual this year. He is also right that it gave us the ability to quickly assemble/disassemble the machine. It was also probably the biggest factor in deciding to build a second robot. But...

There is still a decent amount of weld in the machine. And it's used for exactly the reasons that Joe gives: It is the lightest, strongest, and fastest available fastener for those situations.

It is true that welding can get you into trouble. However, if you make good choices and build spares of parts that might break (I think we had as many as 4 complete ball grabbers, although we never needed a spare), welding is a great tool for robot building.

So, go get some sun. Just make sure that you don't get burned.

P.J.
Team #177