AndyMark is pleased to announce that we will be manufacturing and sourcing production quality CONTROL PANELs along with the full color sticker from the official sticker vendor that FIRST is using. The CONTROL PANEL kit will include two polycarbonate disks with the appropriate holes, all the needed hardware and standoffs for assembly, and the hardware to mount to the lazy susan sourced from either the KOP or FIRST Choice. We will also have the official vinyl sticker available for purchase, sourced from the manufacturer that FIRST is also sourcing from. These products will allow teams to replicate true on-field conditions and ensure that their robots are capable of sensing and controlling field elements that behave the same as they will find at events.
The polycarbonate assembly with NO stickers will cost $189
The TOP sticker set will be $75*
When the page goes live in a few days we ask that teams quickly place an order for what they want this season. The sticker vendor would like to make a single shipment to us, so we will add up all the orders we receive by a cut off date to be announced shortly. We will order that many plus a few more for the season.
We plan to ship these by the end of the month, based on demand.
*To keep costs down we will only be sourcing the TOP sticker. If teams need to test using the inverse pattern of the bottom sticker we are recommending they cut out the color slices and rearrange them on the bottom.
So teams can best replicate the control panel, are the vinyl stickers reversed, or are both mounted to the top of the polycarbonate and the bottom one visible from below in the correct orientation?
In other words, are the two vinyls different, or the same?
On the real field there are two different stickers. We will only be selling one of those two, the top. If teams want the colors in the order they appear on the bottom they can cut out the “pie slices” and rearrange them. In both cases the stickers are on the outer surface of the polycarbonate. (I hope that answers your question)
Why go to the trouble of spending so much for an exact replica when we have to have a bunch of students cut apart one of the stickers and try to piece it back together again?
No worries, that’s what this thread is for. We thought that a disproportionate amount of teams would want the top sticker only as compared to wanting both due to how expensive they are. This could create a stock issue. This plan isn’t isn’t set in stone, so here’s a poll.
What would your team buy?
(One vote per team please, unless you plan to buy more than one of the following)
(Also please don’t vote unless you are seriously considering buying one of these options)
We are working hard to get these live on the www.andymark.com website today.
Product numbers will be:
am-4235 (Control Panel top sticker, two halves)
am-4236 (Control Panel Kit, Unassembled)
We’re working with the same print shop who is making all of the production graphics for the FRC fields, Turn One Graphics. We’ve both been able to sharpen our pencils a bit in order to get the am-4235 sticker price to be $67.
This sticker will have the same air-release vinyl and same 3 mil clear laminate as the ones on the event fields.
Really support this product, very hopeful that you guys can find a way to get the bottom sticker though. It just makes more sense to have a sensor inside the robot volume rather than hanging out off of it?
We may also sell the bottom sticker. It all depends on the demand shown above in Nathan’s poll, and then the feedback we get from customers once sales start.
David and Chris, how hard is it to take the top sticker, 1 student and 1 pair of scissors to create a bottom sticker? I’m not trying to be snarky here, but I am trying to keep our inventory risk low since this is a limited-time sale for a product that will only be active for 2-3 months. Once April comes, my inventory is trash for this product.
Scott, I’m not sure what you mean here regarding pre-masked. They are a vinyl sticker with a laminate cover. I don’t think that any masking is involved. Maybe I am missing something here. I’m not a sticker expert. I’m just trying to offer a service here by selling another company’s sticker.
From an entirely selfish and strategic perspective, the number of teams that purchase these stickers is very useful information. The poll numbers aren’t the same as sales data, but serve much the same purpose. Thanks for that.
But also, thanks to AndyMark (and other vendors) who continually step up to meet the needs of so many. We see it and appreciate it.
RGB and CMYK color values are not truly interchangeable for printing. I’m not sure why FIRST did not choose to use PMS color values though, as it would have been really easy for teams to get consistent samples from any source.
