Renewed Hardware Skills Class Program
Over the past years, our team has tried various structures for the roles within the Hardware Department . Especially the division of roles and students between the two sub-departments: Mechanical Design and Manufacturing & Tooling.
Last year, new students could sign up for either of the two sub-departments and would start in a role that was affiliated with that specific sub-department. This resulted in students not being able to reach their full potential, often due to a lack of training.
On top of that, we often struggled with our student-to-mentor ratio. We want to keep performing on a high level, like we always do, but also give younger students the chance to develop themselves . And we want them to be part of our build season process, allowing them to become role models for others in the future. Therefore, we decided that a new structure would be necessary.
New Training Path for Students
For the upcoming Reefscape pre-season, we made the decision that new students will always start within the Manufacturing & Tooling sub-department to learn the skills required for working in our machine shop . In addition, they will learn valuable skills such as technical drawing reading to enable them to quickly analyze designs and build up these systems.
After the first year, and acquiring the necessary knowledge for production and assembly of robot parts/systems, it is possible to enroll within the Mechanical Design sub-department as a part designer. We strongly feel that new students will benefit from the technical knowledge learned during their first year, to be able to add value to our mechanical design process. They will become better designers when they know how to build what they are actually designing.
It has to be said that the implementation of this structure is a plan to be executed over the upcoming few years, and as a team, we are working on defining the skills required for each role. To make sure that we do not bite off more than we can chew, we decided to start this year with the implementation of a smaller portion of the overall structure overhaul.
For the upcoming season, we focused solely on the roles and specifically the learning path for first-year students. The other roles are more naturally taken already by senior students, active support members, and mentors. It will take time to get those roles worked out in detail as well. However, this is not a priority for the Reefscape pre-season.
After deciding on the smaller version of the large role structure, it was time to set up a new Skills Class program for the Hardware Department. The idea is to let students slowly get to know all the tools in our workshop and, besides that, learn valuable skills needed for assembling a robot during the build season.
Starting off with the first two roles students can enroll in: Help Mechanic and Workshop Junior Machine Operator. The first three weeks of Skills Class students will get to know the following machines: Drill press, brake press, miter saw, and large bandsaw. Starting with these machines means getting yourself familiar with some of the simpler machines in the workshop as opposed to, for example, our lathe, 3D printers, or the CNC router.
The two weeks after the ‘first’ learning trajectory of the ‘simple’ machines will be spent on assembling robotic systems . For example, an old intake from last year’s robot, Coda, or a new drivetrain that we’ve designed for prototyping. Students now get the opportunity to familiarize themselves with certain aspects of subsystems, such as assembling, but also learning about standard parts such as axles and bearings.
Only after these first few weeks will students learn about other things such as the lathe or CNC router. These machines, we believe, are more complex, need more work, and therefore larger classes are being set up for them. This will give students the opportunity to slowly but gradually learn more about these machines as time passes over pre-season.
Introducing Online Learning
To ensure our team evenings are both productive and fun , we’ve integrated an online learning environment into the Skills Class program. By using the TR Academy, students can now complete their theoretical training at home , allowing them to focus on hands-on learning when they’re in the workshop. This approach should maximize the time spent on actually operating machines and building things, while minimizing the need to cover theory during team nights.
We believe this will make the learning process more efficient and enjoyable for students.
Future Steps
This is just the beginning of our multi-year plan to revamp the roles within the Hardware Department. For now, we’re focusing on first-year students, but as the program evolves, we’ll be working to define the roles of senior students, support members, and mentors as well. Stay tuned for more updates!