The team I was on for 4 year prior to this actually learned a lot about the pros and cons of building a two robots. Year 2 we finished the robot in a reasonable amount of time, but had no reason for a second. Year 3 we build a very strong robot in 3 weeks, giving our drivers tons of practice time. Year 4, we build two robots. Though I highly suggest doing so if you can, below is some advice.
The Benefits
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More hands on experience.
Once one robot is build, there is still more for students to do. Year 3 was ended with very little for the tech team to do, most just watching the robot, waiting for a break that never came. Getting a second robot means more students were able to get in on the actions, and students were more comfortable teaching others how to do tasks. -
Additional post-season time.
This is fairly self explanatory. A team can keep going afterwards if they are not yet burned out. -
New type of driver practice.
Very few drivers get to practice with another robot playing defense on them. A second robot during build season only needs to drive in order to play some defense. This can better prepare teams for what will happen at the actual competition. -
Break it more.
This is a combination of a few of the above topics, but it always is beneficial to break the robot before the competition season. This way, students already know what can go wrong, and have taken measures to prevent it.
Words of Warning
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Make sure you have the man power.
If you don’t enough team members, this can become a big issue, as one robot is a lot to build, let alone two. Granted, the second is an exact blueprint copy, but it still takes a lot more time. Also, redesigns are a large pain. Don’t take on a project like this unless you definitely can. -
Make sure you have the time afterwards.
Building a second robot can be very beneficial, but make sure you have reason to do so. If your programmers max out their capabilities before week 6, or your team hardly meets after bag and tag day, then the extra work of a second robot will not be very productive. -
It costs more.
Double the robot nearly equals double the cost. That money can be spent on other things, so team with a low budget might need to do some extra fund raising to get that second robot. -
It’s not the same robot
No matter how similar the robots are, they are never quite the same. Small things may be different. The largest issue is tuning code. Though coding can be done after build season, some values, like PIDs, will change, meaning it code that is completely tested, so build in time before your first match to check.
Good luck in your dual robot adventures, and let me know if you have any more questions.