pic: ThunderChicken Transmission Teaser

[Paul Copioli]

What kind of budget do you have to have to pay for a practice bot?

We actually do not use that much money to build a second robot. We are a veteran team so we have many victor 884s and spike relays already on hand. We had last years controller already and just loaded the firmware to get us the required updates. We have acquired a few inexpensive machines for student use, because we allocate $1,000 each year that the mentors help raise in order to purchase tools/machines:

1. A mini mill for around $300 from Harbor Freight (acquired last year).
2. A mini lathe for $350 from Harbor Freight (acquired 2 years ago).
3. A combination Lathe/mill for larger jobs for $650 (acquired over the Summer).

All shafts, small parts, brackets, spacers, etc. are made by the students in our "mini-shop" and we only pay for material.

Our arms are made from PVC that you buy at Home Depot, so they are inexpensive.

Our wheels (CNC machined), transmission housings (CNC machined), and sheet metal (laser cut and manually bent) are donated from two sponsors that we solicited four years ago and cost us no money (a few trips to their plants and some demonstrations).

Since we are only using one pneumatic cylinder this year, both cylinders were free from Bimba.

We spent another $500 for sprockets, gears, etc. for both robots that the students modified/lightened.

We require our students to raise $1,000 by soliciting sponsors. We are pretty fortunate that we live in an area with a lot of technology companies that the students can solicit.

I say we spent about $1,500 in hard cash for both robots. Not as much as one would think.

Ford Motor company provides us with a home (Ford Van Dyke Plant), pays for our first regional entry fee, and gives us another $1,000 to spend on robot parts. All other monetary donations come from donations solicited by students and mentors.