What do YOU want in the Kit of Parts?

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by ebarker

A MUST have for every FRC team
we bought a bag of 100 of each of the following items...

100 seems overkill, most teams will only use these on the main breaker/PD board so a few extra should be plenty for most teams. Also, I think handing any team 100 split washers that fit almost perfectly on 1/4" bolts will lead to improper usage*.

I think a good item to include in the kit is a book of fabrication techniques such as drilling a hole straight, drilling holes in multiple parts so that the holes line up, and just general things like that. I think that even a lot of veteran teams could fin a use for it, such a training new team members. They don't have to be fancy, they will likely get destroyed every year so it is best to make them cheap and recyclable.

* I would have linked to the NASA document mentioned in this document, but the file seems to be corrupted on the NASA server. There is a chance that something else is at fault so here is the document.

[gixxy]

Some kind of micro-controller such as Arduino or Beaglebones for testing would be really great!

Battery Beak would be really helpful

Cross Platform Software. The only Language that is easily done cross-platform is Java, however your Driver Station has to be Windows still. It is annoying at times to deal with.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by PAR_WIG1350

100 seems overkill

EOQ - economic order quantity.
Transaction cost - the cost the get the purchase done.

We submit orders to McMaster for a variety of things. They deliver it to us in about 4 hours at a cost of $ 4.xx.

Ordering the smallest package from McMaster is not that expensive, and way easier and cheaper than driving all over town to go by a few parts for too much money.

[BrendanRadabaug]

Originally Posted by squirrel

And a crimping tool.....

but that is what the vise is for.

another great thing to have come in the kit would be a multimeter or even a Battery Beak.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by BrendanRadabaug

but that is what the vise is for.

another great thing to have come in the kit would be a multimeter or even a Battery Beak.

Multimeters have been in FIRSTchoice both years.

[pmangels17]

Everything here is great, especially the CIM motors. However, a choice between jaguars or victors would be BEST because teams use one or the other generally, and if only one was given, i could see a lot of them going to waste, and the generosity of FIRST's sponsors should not be wasted. Also, this would allow more of them to be given, so teams can spend less on motor controllers.

[Tetraman]

- Point-and-Shoot camera for team photo taking, which can be loaded onto team websites and blogs. Obviously a one-per-team thing that rookies would only get after the initial year.

- Preconstructed bumbers, or all the resources needed to build them, such as pool noodles and "FIRST color fabric". Everyone is required to have them and construct them in a certian way. Its about time we start getting them in the kits, or at least getting a basic set of full coverage bumpers that go with the kit chassis.

- Gaffers Tape as it is used on the competition field. Especially for competitions that have reflective tape.

[Gregor]

Originally Posted by Tetraman

- Preconstructed bumbers, or all the resources needed to build them, such as pool noodles and "FIRST color fabric". Everyone is required to have them and construct them in a certian way. Its about time we start getting them in the kits, or at least getting a basic set of full coverage bumpers that go with the kit chassis.

Bumpers are made to interface with your specific bot, so making a generic bumper to go with the kit frame wouldn't be much help. Even for teams that use the kit frame, teams use different mounting holes, as well as long vs. wide drive orientation, so full bumpers in the kit wouldn't be much use.

For example, my team used the kit frame this year. Our bumper mounts had to be moved for IRI because of an improvement that needs the mounting points the bumpers used.

However the fabric would be useful.

And how to build a robot instructions would be nice

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by BrendanRadabaug

but that is what the vise is for.

vise != crimper !!!

[AlexH]

i know this is a total longshot but i'd like to see a switch from sla to lighter lifepo4 batteries like this

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by AlexH

i know this is a total longshot but i'd like to see a switch from sla to lighter lifepo4 batteries like this

Not going to happen in the forseeable future.

Lead acid batteries have a current monopoly on capacity, ability to source current, ease of use & care, and most importantly for FRC purposes, cost.

[MrForbes]

And safety, Adam.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by squirrel

And safety, Adam.

I'm not an expert, but high quality LiFePO4 batteries such as those that are intended for consumer applications are comparably safe to lead acid batteries.

Generic sack based lithium batteries like you see in the RC industry are another story though...

[EricVanWyk]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

I'm not an expert, but high quality LiFePO4 batteries such as those that are intended for consumer applications are comparably safe to lead acid batteries.

Generic sack based lithium batteries like you see in the RC industry are another story though...

I'm also not a battery expert, but I've lived with one and worked with another. I believe the LiFePO4 chemistry to be sufficiently safe for FRC usage. They would be perfect if they didn't cost so much.

However, I would hesitate to use other Lithium based chemistries.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

I'm also not a battery expert, but I've lived with one and worked with another. I believe the LiFePO4 chemistry to be sufficiently safe for FRC usage. They would be perfect if they didn't cost so much.

Or have so much shipping hassle.

I've had some dealings with LiFePO4 batteries--my Lunabotics team used two of them to run a robot. They acted just like SLAs would have (barring chemistry and mass considerations) but gave us no end of headaches getting them shipped down there and back to South Dakota. Apparently to ship them via ground (you can't ship them via air) you have to have a person with some sort of safety certificate to ship them (thankfully, you don't have to have one to receive!)

R/C lithium batteries tend to be dangerous primarily when they are a) punctured or b) charging or c) very hot. If you're charging them, stick them in a flameproof container and set a timer--they should come out all right unless there's some other flaw. If they get puffy, they're considered bad--there's a procedure to safely make them lose all chance of causing problems, involving salt water and puncturing the battery, IIRC. Otherwise, keep them out of heat.