your pit area

[chatterboxx333]

last year our team had tables along the back wall of the pit with all of our totes underneath. main electrical supplies on one side with battery chargers, mechanical supplies on the opposite side.

[Katy]

I think a lot of teams underestimate the usefulness of their crate. Making a good crate with some foldout shelves can do wonders for your pit organization.

Crates are also good for electrical organization. You can put a single plug into the back of your crate and then have the actual power strips be mounted to the inside of the crate. Keeping wires from being underfoot is very useful.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/29591

This is my high school team in 2007 and their pit setup, (which dates back to my time in high school). The system has served the team well. The metal (unless it has been recut) should still be designed for the 8' by 8' pit area form factor which explains why things appear to expand outside the bars.

Team 360 has in the past been very open about the design (especially that of the crate: I think they actually have the thing CADed someplace for other teams to look at). They just want credit for the idea and for you to let them know you're trying it.

[synth3tk]

linkified answer: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=59775

[Mrtrom]

Toolboxes,More Toolboxes, all on a portable cart. Totes, Carts,

[ida_noeman]

Make sure only those who need to be in teh pit are in it, and everyone else is out of the way.

[synth3tk]

Originally Posted by ida_noeman

Make sure only those who need to be in teh pit are in it, and everyone else is out of the way.

I'm bringing that up in our next meeting. I felt there were too many people just hanging around, which is fine if they're in the stands and got their work done. But it's a pain to move around someone if it's not neccesary. It's only 10x10, so choose wisely and make the most of your space!

[burkey_turkey]

We decided to make our crate this year into a workstation for the pit. We worked on it all during winter break and just barely got it done in time for build season. While i don't have any pictures of it (yet) i should be able to describe it pretty well.

The front half of the top of the crate folds back 180 onto the back half of the top. this lets the two clamshell doors in the front swing open either 90 or 180 degrees, depending on what we decide is best at the competition. Because the doors form a nice L shape, we have a system to put 4 shelves on the inside of the left door once open and lock them in place, while the right door has battery charging pockets. The entire crate is prewired and just needs to be plugged in. A thick table bifolds from the back all the way to the front and onto supports for a very steady and deep work space. Stop by the team 422 pit at VCU or nats to check it out! We're all really excited about it this year. It did end up being kind of heavy, but it should be worth the extra shipping costs.

[SgtMillhouse648]

Originally Posted by burkey_turkey

We decided to make our crate this year into a workstation for the pit. We worked on it all during winter break and just barely got it done in time for build season. While i don't have any pictures of it (yet) i should be able to describe it pretty well.

The front half of the top of the crate folds back 180 onto the back half of the top. this lets the two clamshell doors in the front swing open either 90 or 180 degrees, depending on what we decide is best at the competition. Because the doors form a nice L shape, we have a system to put 4 shelves on the inside of the left door once open and lock them in place, while the right door has battery charging pockets. The entire crate is prewired and just needs to be plugged in. A thick table bifolds from the back all the way to the front and onto supports for a very steady and deep work space. Stop by the team 422 pit at VCU or nats to check it out! We're all really excited about it this year. It did end up being kind of heavy, but it should be worth the extra shipping costs.

Actually, 648 has been doing this for quite a few years. The sides fold out and then the top and bottom come up and serve as a countertop to work off of and put computers printers etc. We have a couple of flag holders on it also which hold a banner, John Deere flag (sponsor) and the American Flag. Works pretty neat!

[ShotgunNinja]

Our pit this year still needs a lot of work. But we do have lights, speakers, and an amp, and we are getting a disco ball. (Don't ask me why we NEED this, it was the others' idea, not mine.) So come over to 1652's pit for some lively music and nothing getting done whatsoever!

[EricH]

Originally Posted by ShotgunNinja

Our pit this year still needs a lot of work. But we do have lights, speakers, and an amp, and we are getting a disco ball. (Don't ask me why we NEED this, it was the others' idea, not mine.) So come over to 1652's pit for some lively music and nothing getting done whatsoever!

Have them keep the music down. Loud music is banned in the pits (I forget which rule, but I' pretty sure it's in Section 4: At the Event.)

[Mike Schreiber]

Team 27 takes shelves and has our own little set up for all of our boxes, parts, tools, and we also bring a vice and means of securing it which has proved to be quite useful. We included lights because many times arena/gymnasium lights are not enough, and we like to be able to see.

You're pit is a way for everyone to see your team, so if you want to impress the judges or other teams, come up with some display boards to first of all, credit/thank your sponsors for all their support and also to show off how amazing your team is and all of your hard work. In the past we took foam boards and covered them in fabric, then lined them with painted pvc, and mounted them to our shelves with tie straps. We used Velcro to attached any pictures we wanted and used them to tell our story.

One thing no one has mentioned is the robot cart, it has to fit inside your pit too, unless you can find somewhere out of the way for it (or leave it outside until you need it) I've seen teams make the crate into the robot cart before, where they just take off the top half and add wheels or something of that sort, which always helps on transportation costs.

[ShotgunNinja]

Originally Posted by EricH

Have them keep the music down. Loud music is banned in the pits (I forget which rule, but I' pretty sure it's in Section 4: At the Event.)

I'll be sure to let 'em know. Thanks.

Oh, and another thing I thought up: Chain-link fence around the walls of the pit. It's practical, it protects the pit from others around it, it looks good, and you can easily make hooks and hang stuff on it. (I remember a team last year that had that... Don't remember which team, though...)

[synth3tk]

At Buckeye if you get an the outside rows, there's extra space on the opposite side of the walkway which is unofficially an extended area. We used that space last year.

I'm still planning our area, but I have a question. For teams who used canopies in the past, how much did they cost? Or, did you custom make it out of PVC piping and fabric? If the latter, how did you do it?

[Nin_estarSaerah]

we generally set up our pit in our shop, take pictures of everything, and draw out a rough diagram to help add to the pictures.

[Jimmy Nichols]

The rules may say 10x10, but at venues that have limited space, such as Pittsburgh, Purdue, the pit size can be 8x8.

I designed a nice extruded pit display for our team, unfortunately we haven't been able to use it yet. It has 2 2x2x4 rolling carts, one as a media module, the other a safety module and 2 3x4x3.5 carts for tool and material storage.