Hey guys! I have always found FIRST teams extremely supportive to each other, and in times of troubles I come to this gathering to ask you for your help. We are just getting out of the design process and no one has ever though of building a crate. Worst yet is we don’t have any know who has any idea how to. If any of you guys are willing to share your drawing and the list of materials (especially the list since we have no idea of what to buy), you can become a savior of yet another rookie team.
our crate last year was extreemly simple. Build 2 boxes out of 2x4’s about 2" under the maximum length and width dimensions of the crate. Then connect them with 4 more 2x4’s about 6-8" under the maximum height to leave room for the forklift spacers on the bottom. Cover all but 1 side with 1/2 to 3/4" plywood. Then attach the forklift base plate… If you don’t have a propper plate 2 2x4’s stacked will suffice. 1 centered, 1 at each end, all running parallel. I’d recommend if you do use the 2x4’s you concider doubling up your bottom sheet of plywood or adding a support or two inside the box for added protection.
Once you have that consider building a resting block on either side for your robot to sit on using the leftover materials. Then fill in the added space with boxes of supplies and bubble pack or other easy to remove packing material. You can toss a shelf up top using leftover 2x4’s and plywood for the controls or other items if you want to keep it organized.
Once everthing is in secure the final side of the crate, label all sides extreemly well, add a few extra screws to make sure it doesn’t fall apart, and your good to go.
we had a short robot so i was able to make the crate pretty tiny. i had four columns going up from the “forklift pallate.” Like an inverted table kinda.
I then measured the wood required to cover each side and cut that. I also put “windows” by making square cuts in the middle of the side covers and mounted polycarbonate sheet as the pane of the window. I then mounted all 3 sides.
The last side, I mounted it with door hinges on one side and a padlock on the other. That allowed the crate to be like a cabinet.
When we got to the competition, we used our crate as a table and a cabinet (it being pretty short). We put valuables inside the cabinet and locked it when we left the arena for the night.
I dunno if we’ll be able to do that this year, we’re not going to be 11" tall this year. Hehe.
Hope this helps. Make your crate as creative as you want it to be. Just be sure it won’t 1) fall apart, 2) covered on all sides very well to prevent the natural elements from sneaking in.
BOM:
Wood,
Nails,
&
A prayer that it will all be packed by shipping time!!!
Seriously though, Just build a box large enough to fit your robot in and a bit over the width and height and length requirements (internal box dimension)
Put some reinforcements in there,
Some Eye hooks in the sides and strap that baby in for dear life!
Please try to build your box a little more square than my image above!!
Of course our crate is orange~~~!!! This pic was taken last year when we were painting our logo on it. It has a little compartment/shelf on top. This is for extra parts and things. We also have a second crate for our tool box. Our crates are made out of chopped up 2x4s for sides and support. The bottom has 4x4 for the forklifts and a plywood base. The sides are covered with paneling.
Of course our crate is orange~~~!!! This pic was taken last year when we were painting our logo on it. It has a little compartment/shelf on top. This is for extra parts and things. We also have a second crate for our tool box. Our crates are made out of chopped up 2x4s for sides and support. The bottom has 4x4 for the forklifts and a plywood base. The sides are covered with paneling.
We do not have any hinges or doors. We just un-screw the front side panel.
