Hey all! We, 3543 C4 Robotics would like to introduce ourselves to Chief Delphi! We are a team competing out of Arnprior District High School in Arnprior, Ontario, and we will be providing weekly updates to our build throughout the season! Look for updates every Friday!
We wish everybody a fantastic build and cannot wait to see everybody’s ideas this year!
WEEK ONE
This week was mainly for preparing ourselves for the weeks ahead, as we had multiple snow days that made it difficult for many team members to come into the school. However, we did not let that deter us, and by Wednesday had our first shooter prototype and the three main field elements that we needed to start building our bot (stage, source and amp).
On Thursday, we built a bench testing base out of 80-20, as to test the mechanisms before finding a way to put them on the actual drive base itself. We also improved upon our shooter, creating Mark IV of what we expected to be many more.
On Friday, we started fitting the shooter onto the bench test base to get distance and angle measurements, along with devising multiple intake ideas for the notes. We prototyped one of the intake ideas so far, and have combined them to see how they would work together.
All in all, a hugely successful first week for us, and we cannot wait to see what the next couple weeks hold! Until next week,
C4 Robotics
WEEK TWO
This was our first week of pure robot building. We unfortunately did not have time to finish building the stage, but our progress was monumental for ourselves nonetheless.
On Monday, we planned our auto flowchart and discussed possibilities, as well as making Mark 6 (yes, mark 6) of our shooter and getting our first coherent prototype of an intake, and continued testing.
Tuesday was our first big day, as we finally got our gearboxes and were able to continue testing our shooter, creating phenomenal videos like this (and yes, it did break my glasses):
https://youtube.com/shorts/vyWtF-PsTJI?si=H6MvlMg_pqWlFIUy
Wednesday lead to Thursday, in which we built the drive base we are going to use this year, which is a 28 by 30 butterfly drive. We also cobbled together some actual code for our shooter and got it working before we all left for the day.
Friday was a great day in general, as we got both our notes and our compliant wheels to continue intake work. Not a great deal of progress, but enough to be ready for next Monday. Until next time!
Casey
C4 Robotics
Can you explain the decision behind using a grasshopper drive in 2024? Wouldn’t COTS swerve be easier and more mobile?
We don’t exactly have the funds for COTS swerve, we’ve been using this for three years and are just sticking with it. We also find it would be easier without having to change direction too much, and the omnis offer a little more maneuverability.
WEEK THREE
This year was arguably our biggest leap, as we got a working drive base finished on Thursday. We had two snow days again this week, allowing us to get the work we desperately needed to get done finished.
Monday and Tuesday were mostly build, as we drilled the holes to put on an electrical plate and mount the shooter semi-permanently, as well as testing it more while mounted on the bot. Then we turned it over to the code team, where the biggest achievement was reached on Thursday, as the robot gained the ability to drive while not tethered.
Friday was also good for us, as we got the pneumatics on our drive train up and running, as well as deciding a name and prototyping a full intake mechanism further. We plan on taking a little break as exams start next week, but we will update you regardless next week.
Until next time,
Casey
C4 Robotics
WEEK FOUR
This week was not exceptionally active, as exams were very prevalent this week, but nonetheless, progress was made. Was it as much as we wish it was? Not exactly, but exams made it hard to do much more than what was achieved.
Monday and Tuesday were relatively slow days, but we still managed to get a start to autonomous, worked on getting the limelight functioning and got the robot drifting once again. That was the main achievement, as people went home to recharge for the next day’s exams early.
Wednesday wasn’t really much more productive, but we created a complete idea for the intake, and plan to execute on it early next week. We also got a climber ready for test, and will ideally be testing next week.
Thursday was our best day this week, also being the week’s last. We got the stage built, and programming working on getting a drive switch coded so cycling can be made easier.
Bumpers have also been framed, and we are just waiting on some more pool noodles to finish the inside before we put the covers on.
Overall, progress, although slow, was still monumental, as these were some projects that we were slightly putting off. So, as always, there will be another update on Friday, and enjoy your day!
Until next week,
Casey
C4 Robotics
WEEK FIVE
The week after exams was absolutely insane for progress. Having just been relieved of massive amounts of stress, the team came back with a new fire.
Monday and Tuesday were relatively chill, with not a ton being done except intake motorization being finalized and minor changes to the shooter (i.e., changing the gearbox ratio).
Wednesday was another massive day for progress, but also a day for setbacks. We got the intake fully functioning (coders coming in clutch once again), and got the intake. However, we had our biggest setback yet, which was somehow frying our rio. Fortunately, it seems it is back in working order, however, we are going to stick with the backup until we can get a full test on our good one.
Thursday was mainly for drive practice, as we had the most important parts of the bot finished, trying out our drive base as well as training new potential drivers. This ended up being the best day of the week, as Friday was relatively calm as well, but we still got half of our bumpers sewn as well as semi-finishing the intake and some other small quality of life changes.
Progress this week was great, and we cannot wait until next week to hopefully get the most important pieces of the robot ironed out.
Thank you and enjoy your week,
Casey
C4 Robotics
Awesome robot and drive train! I love how the skill of the driver directly affects the ability and validity of this drivetrain. I look forward to seeing it at competition soon!
Thank you! We’re excited to showcase our robot when the time comes, and to see how it performs at competition! Hopefully we see you at one of ours!
I’ll be at Newmarket (9062), Durham (RI), Waterloo (9062), McMaster (LRI), and Ontario Champs (5406 or 9062). See you soon!
Finally an update!
WEEK SIX
This week was… strange. We were all over the place, as there was not a designated goal for the week. However, progress was nonetheless good, as we got more drive practice in, as well as selecting a driver to succeed our current one next year.
Monday through Wednesday were just refining days, as we finished getting our intake up and running, as well as creating the final iteration of our shooter and working on some minor fixes for issues we have overlooked up to this point, including fixing side bars to complete the frame perimeter. We are also at the moment weighing in at roughly 72 pounds.
Thursday was a drive test and hardening day, and oh boy, are we glad we did that. Within the first couple minutes we snapped a wheel in multiple pieces, but on the bright side, we found out that the traction wheels we keep on hand are good enough to replace those wheels until their replacements come in. Other than that, it was a pretty chill day, and we decided out next driver for after this season, as our current one is set to graduate.
Friday was once again just a minor day, however we discovered that with the final version of the shooter, we can now intake both ways from the source.
All in all, decent week, would have liked to get more done but alas, it is what it is. Four weeks until we set out for Oshawa!
Until next time,
Casey
C4 Robotics
WEEK SEVEN
Sorry for the late post today, this week has been hectic as all hell, but hey, Saturday content!
Gearing up for our first district event (Durham College, week 3), we’ve put a major focus on two things:
Tuesday was just a quick day, as we just did a small fix to our intake to prevent damage to the notes by the plates. Wednesday was a little better, as we approached a full climber concept, completed what we call the “Tongue” to help us score in the amp, devised a way to feed the note into the shooter with pneumatics, and replaced the wheels on the robot.
Thursday and Friday were mostly drive days, but we figured out two major things: In order to do all the things we want to with pneumatics, we were going to have to rework them entirely, and the quick “fix” that we did with the intake actually did more damage than good. We repaired that, and are going to machine a full version so that the issue (it bent up every second or third note taken in) is resolved, as well as weighing the back down more. This is desperately needed, as we are 50 pounds under the weight limit and very front-heavy at the moment.
Saturday was a day almost solely to help 9589, as we got the base wired and programmed with them, and started their superstructure as to get them ready for at least driving around.
No media this week, as it was all mechanical for me, all week
Until next time,
Casey
C4 Robotics
WEEK EIGHT
Yippee, more Saturday content! This week was our most productive week in recent memory, as we finally had all hands on deck for the first time in a while. As always, there are things we would have like to have gotten done, but we still have two weeks for those, as well as hardening and general testing. Stay tuned next week to find out the results from that!
This week was largely just a general “get things done” week, and boy did we get things done. We can now score in the amp, and after figuring out the proper delays, we can score in amp 100% of the time. This also brings me to the next point in this, which is…
CONSISTENCY TESTING
This year, to combat any issues that may prevent us from being competitive cough cough our Georgian College issues, which leads us this year to create this spreadsheet:
We also have the climber nearly mounted, and plan to have it mounted by Tuesday. That is essentially the last thing to be finished aside from the bumpers, which should be also finished by Tuesday at the latest.
All in all, productive week, and I cannot wait to see what gets accomplished!
Thanks for reading and until next time,
Casey
C4 Robotics
WEEK NINE
As this week was for gearing up towards our first competition, our major accomplishments for this week were already predetermined by last week’s post. However, there are some things that are also a surprise from last week, and will be detailed more than the things mentioned in last week’s post.
Firstly, the bumpers and climber have been nearly finalized and mounted. The bumpers will require a little extra love, as they just require a slight adjustment to finally latch on. The climber was mounted on Wednesday, and oh my lord, it works, and it works fast. The only issue we have with it at the moment is that the claws we used were 3D printed, and snapped upon instant application of force. However, the big thing was that they grabbed in precisely the right spot, and the snap was exactly where the pressure should be. So with that knowledge, the next goal is to machine two or three different variations and see how well the all hold up.
Next is autonomous testing. Over the last couple days, we have evolved our autonomous from wiping the tele-op capabilities to having a 12 point and potentially 17 point auto if we can before Durham, however it should be finished for North Bay the following week. Testing will also ensue this week, and should be done by Wednesday.
Another productive week comes to an end, as we gear up for competition at the end of March Break. The next post you’ll see here is the full robot reveal!
Until next week,
Casey
C4 Robotics
Comp season has come and gone! Here’s what we accomplished at our events!
Durham College: Ranked 19/27 after qualifications, second pick of alliance 1 with Celt-X (5406) and Strike Zone (5460), finalists
North Bay: Ranked 25/32 after qualifications, second pick of alliance with Ice Cubed (1305) and MaxTech (4343), finalists
FOPC (district championship): Rank 43/50 on Technology, no playoffs, but had a ton of fun.
This was easily the team’s most successful season, as we tripled our amount of finals appeared in, and most importantly, had a blast. We can’t wait to see everyone next year!
Until next build season,
Casey
C4 Robotics
