surefire ways to break you robot

[A_Reed]

Upon entering FIRST you immediately apply Murphy's Laws.

[NorviewsVeteran]

Originally Posted by A_Reed

Upon entering FIRST you immediately apply Murphy's Laws.

ONE OF OUR COACHES TRIPPED ON OUR FTC BOT

THAT'S RIGHT MR. GRIMES, I'M PUTTING YOU OUT THERE

[Chris/Fish]

Forget to secure the battery so it falls out of its holder...and onto the main breaker.

[The Megan 2207]

Find a minor problem and say, "I can fix that." It will turn into a major problem.

Alternately, say, "I can make that work better."

[lasereyes]

Originally Posted by The Megan 2207

Alternately, say, "I can make that work better."

I think that was the reason why the mentors wouldn't let me make some changes to the robot that would make it work better...

[Enigma's puzzle]

Say, "we will get it after the next match",

Responding yes to "Is it fixed?"

Any time They call for the Pits to clear

[logicalyrandom]

-Cross wire the speed controllers. Fortunately we realized what we'd done before we turned the robot on.

-Forget to replace broken fuse.

-Forget to tighten zipties after replacing battery

These are all things we did with a test bot earlier this year.

[NorviewsVeteran]

-when figuring where to put the battery, remember to drop the uncovered contacts directly on the metal frame. TWICE.

seriously though, kick it away with your RUBBER SOLED SHOE

[Gabe]

Don't loktite the set screw on the CIM shaft.
Go full speed off any kind of ramp.
Not bother making an enable/disable dongle.
Use cheap limit switches to halt your lead screw's travel.
Overconfidence.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by NorviewsVeteran

-when figuring where to put the battery, remember to drop the uncovered contacts directly on the metal frame. TWICE.

seriously though, kick it away with your RUBBER SOLED SHOE

I'll second this, but a little more general.

Design, Wire and Maintain your robot so that shorts are not probable. Electrical layout should be the responsibility of both the mechanical/design teams and the electrical teams. Don't ever get into the us vs. them mentality. If you're mechanical and don't go out of your way to make electrical easier, you can't complain when it fails.

Your wire runs should be clean, organized, labeled and easy to differentiate between wires. If you have a short, or a motor not working somewhere, etc... you want to spend as little time possible finding what wire is hooked to what.

Electrical failures suck, they can cripple a mechanically perfect robot, and can be difficult to fix and diagnose.

Same goes for the relationship between mechanical/design and programmers. Make it as easy as possible for them... You are the SAME team afterall

[Booksy]

Originally Posted by NorviewsVeteran

-when figuring where to put the battery, remember to drop the uncovered contacts directly on the metal frame. TWICE.

seriously though, kick it away with your RUBBER SOLED SHOE

Yep. Done that. Leaves a cool battle-scar on the frame though

Also, wiring through holes with sharp metal jagged edges.

[synth3tk]

- Drive the robot during a match where important school board of directors are watching.

- Deciding during the regional that after your robot can barely drive, you need to have some super-cool autonomous mode programmed before the next match.

- Assign a non-mechanical member a very critical task between regionals

[GillSt.Bernards]

When your school building is surrounded by windows (Which we have) and you test autonomous mode in that hallway for the first time without the bumpers on. The robot was not the only thing broken after that.

[Katie_UPS]

...Get picked by the number one alliance. Scream and cry because the alliance is awesome and there is no way you won't go to Atlanta. Scream and cry as the alliance's robots' motors burn out and arms get bent. Lather. Rise. Repeat.


EDIT: I'd also like to add that you guys are abusing the crap out of the programmers. (Although I'm not any better...)

[Renee Becker-Blau]

Tell Renee to tighten the electrical block. (She then loosens the electrical block >_>)