[FTC]: Tetrix structural components @ Pitsco

[syraweb]

Structural Tetrix components are now listed on the Pitsco on-line store, link to http://catalog.pitsco.com/store/defa...D=157&by=9&c=1. They are also listed in the new Pitsco 2008 STEM Catalog.

The prices speak for themselves.

[Greg Needel]

base kit with no controls $400

a single 80 tooth gear - $25

2 frame rails - $30

These prices seem outrageous for what you get. Having built many vex robots I can see these machines costing twice to three times what they used to. I guess we will just have to wait and see what the game is an hopefully what you get in the kit will cover it.

[artdutra04]

So much for the "affordable" competition...

[Lowfategg]

I been following this on both FTC Lab and VEX forum. I have a few words for it, the prices are insane. Its almost as expensive and FRC parts!

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

I been following this on both FTC Lab and VEX forum. I have a few words for it, the prices are insane. Its almost as expensive and FRC parts!

I agree. $24.95 for one 4" wheel. $70 for a motor controller and $30 for a motor that isn't even a quarter the power of a CIM. We're doing one FTC team this year just to get our feet wet and see where FTC is going, and now it looks like our question of the possibility of two teams has been answered.

[Lowfategg]

Originally Posted by JesseK

I agree. $24.95 for one 4" wheel. $70 for a motor controller and $30 for a motor that isn't even a quarter the power of a CIM. We're doing one FTC team this year just to get our feet wet and see where FTC is going, and now it looks like our question of the possibility of two teams has been answered.

If you just use kit its only $950 per kit so you could do two team. Yet you wont be able to buy extra parts.

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

If you just use kit its only $950 per kit so you could do two team. Yet you wont be able to buy extra parts.

Our team goes way beyond just the kit. By the end of last VEX season most of the gears and metal had been custom cut, custom beveled, and/or spray painted one color or another. They went through a couple of extras during prototyping, and some motors and pieces of metal didn't quite make it through the pushing of competition so we needed extra. We'll see I guess.

[thefro526]

Wow, so uhh how are the prices of these new structural elements supposed to aid the spread of FTC? IMO, this stuff is way to expensive for what you get especially when a wheel is more than 20 dollars.

[gblake]

Folks,

I agree that FTC this year is not for the financially faint of heart; but...

I suggest taking a a second look at that Base Kit. I'm hardly an expert with 200-300 Tetrix hours under my belt; but what I do remember from the NoVaTech team putting together their showcase bot in April, makes me think that the Base Kit (plus some LEGO parts for the ends of the robot's limbs) might be a pretty good deal.

Measure twice and cut once! Prototype ideas with parts from previous competitions...

Blake

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by gblake

Measure twice and cut once! Prototype ideas with parts from previous competitions...

Blake

Maybe I am mistaken but wasn't the original idea of FTC to be the low cost prototyping for FRC? Why should you have to low cost prototype for this system with another kit, at that point you could just just cardboard and ductape like the old days.

I guess I could go on a vex vs. Tetrix rant, but I think that won't be productive. I wonder what the possibility of these parts dropping in price are after they have sold x quantity. Also it would be interesting to see what new accessories they come out with, as right now they don't have some of the things I know I would need for a competitive robot ( rack and pinion for example)

[GeorgeTheEng]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

Maybe I am mistaken but wasn't the original idea of FTC to be the low cost prototyping for FRC?

Actually no. The original purpose behind the program was to be act as a program with less barrier to entry. Not just lower* cost, but also requiring less resources and reducing the need for large numbers of mentors. Here I'm talking specifically the FTC program, not the Vex kit (2 different things entirely).

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

Also it would be interesting to see what new accessories they come out with, as right now they don't have some of the things I know I would need for a competitive robot ( rack and pinion for example)

Interesting, but consider that for the 2 years of FTC (or FVC at the time) those things didn't exist for Vex either and teams made very competitive robots.

While I agree that some of this is expensive, before deciding too many things (like number of teams you can support) wait for the rules to be published. I don't think anyone outside FIRST HQ and the FTC GDC know for certain whether extra parts will be allows and if so what kind of rules govern them. There could always be discounts or bundles offered to teams. I'm not saying any of this may happen, but I'd tend to hold judgement until we know for certain.


* Note: I specifically chose "lower" instead of "low". "Low" is subject to vastly different opinions. "Lower" in relation to FRC is easier to quantify and justify.