Assembling a robot on a solid bench always leads to frustration when you are trying to reach from underneath. Gears and chains are always a pain to reach from below. Attaching a bolt from underneath the robot is always tight on a solid table.
Having the robot sit on the wheels is another pain when you are testing the drive train and need the wheels to spin. Not mention a little safety hazard if the wheels moved unexpectedly and drove the robot off a solid table.
So I was thinking of a pedestal mount style work bench. Wheels are not in contact, and you would have 10 or so inches of space underneath to get your hands and tools in place.
Built from wood 2 x 4ās and plywood. Pedestals have an angle to help center the robot when you are setting it onto the bench. You need to know your frame dimensions and wheel placement before you build the bench.
Drop some lockable casters on there. Instead of using the outer members to hold up the robot, on 11 we used to use 80/20 on the top rails that actually hold the robot so that you can just adjust the dimensions easily each year. There are magnetic surgical trays on there to hold any fasteners and it also has a tool tray. This is the old cart though, new one is bigger, has a build in toolbox, and has new speakers
Solid table is always best, hands down, if you drop something it doesnāt end up half way across the shop under heavy equipment. If youāre looking to get under the robot in the shop just have someone tilt it and hold it there or keep some lifts for the robot, which can be as simple as some 2x4 blocks of wood to robot jack stands (made by students). i would only create a custom work area for the robot cart, but usually itās just easier to make everything accessible from above.
(2x4 blocks laying long instead of standing, where the 2 side is on the table)
If 148 had a table like this, we may not have ever seen Tumbleweed in 2008.
Be careful that the table design does not quash creativity or innovation. Design it so that it may adjust to the size/geometry of the robot.
Here is the new cart we made/had cut. It just got back from the powdercoaters so itās currently pieces in the corner. Itāll be put together this weekend. Dimensions are 30" wide, 40" long 16"tall with a 48" tall handle thatās removable and storable in the bottom tray(A la 148).
The top sports arrays of obround holes and custom made wheel clamps that slide and adjust to any size/location of wheel for any year. This keeps the robot firm.
The bottom tray also has a few hundred 1/4" holes in it. This makes it extremely versatile in terms of adding things later(Battery mounts etc would rivet straight in), but will probably support a nice mat right now.
237 uses a rolling table with big locking casters and drop sides. You can open up sides as needed. Wooden blocks are stored under for when you need to raise the drive train off the table. Nice part is you can spin it and move it from room to room.
The shop weāve been in the last years has several solid benches scattered around the room, and each year when our robot gets to the point where we want access to both the top and bottom, we put the robot across two of them, with a gap in the middle. Then we just slide in underneath on a rolling platform to get at everything underneath. Of course we have to be careful to keep the robot from sliding off into the gap, but this is easy enough (traction wheels basically do that for you). And then we have an open benchtop on either side to do work on, and can easily access all levels of the robot - underneath, middle, and up top (standing on the bench).
Safety is always top priority, so make sure that whatever you do, your heavy robot is not going anywhere and people working on the robot arenāt in any danger.
Many of our assembly tasks are done on the solid rolling table, but for under-bot access we just put it on our competition cart. It is made from 1.5" 80/20, has a 3-drawer Craftsman tool cabinet (with latching drawers) at each end, with a flat top. There are four ālegsā that come up to support the robot. These legs need to be reconfigured for different robots - usually just relocating them (trivial with 80/20) so the āslotsā in the ends fit onto the chassis securely.
Dropped objects land on the cartās top.
An advantage is that, at competition, the tools are always with the robot. Disadvantage is that the cart weighs in at about 200 pounds.
When push comes to shove, we have a fixture made from 2x4s that supports the robot frame several inches above the table.
A couple of 4x4ās on either end is usually good enough for most tasks under the robot. Anything else more intricate and we have someone hold it on its side or lay it down.
