Your facility or B + L’s?
Neither. One of our other sponsors, Ontario Engine. The owner is a dad of two team members, so we did the design, had students draw it up in CAD, and then sent it over.
Of course, he then took the time to show his own children (the two team members legally allowed to go to FIRST-related things on this lack-of-snow day where we do not have school) how to program the CnC machine to make the parts.
Awesome, sounds like you got a good setup out there. I wish I could have the ability to make wheels. I have a nice 4" solid round stock of polycarb to make a wheel out of.
Well, “out there” is 25 miles away, but yes, we’re lucky to have engendered some very positive relationships with two machine shops – Ontario Engine in Canandaigua, and European Auto Parts in Prattsburg. (Who’d have thunk that Prattsburg, population ~900, would have a shop that custom makes auto parts for aftermarket Mercedes, Audi, etc., European luxury cars? And that the wife of the owner would run the computer lab in our elementary school!)
We have some issues about in-house machining that we’re trying to work around, but the school is reluctant to replace out-of-date equipment when that entire section of the school is slated to be knocked down and rebuilt as soon as the school board and the populace can agree on a plan and price tag…