Over here at AndyMark we’re working hard to do some very cool things this summer. We’re working to have more information on our products, release new products regularly for you to check out, and we are looking to add videos as well.
We are going to be creating assembly videos, demo videos of products, and most importantly videos to help all of you out! What we want to know from the CD community is what kind of videos would help you or your team? “How to put on and remove a pinion gear?” “How do you guys crimp your cables?” Please let us know what kind of videos we can create to help you out.
We can’t guarantee that we can use every suggestion given but we will certainly look at all of the ones given.
A separate category that would be really cool and useful (not only to teams, but to your sales) is videos that demonstrate why a FRC robot should use AndyMark products. Also possibly a variant of this which shows a well known robot, and the team’s use of the product (I bet many teams would be surprised at how many “all custom” teams still use a lot of AndyMark product).
I’m thinking videos along the lines of; Gearing a single joint arm with Andy Baker, laying out a competitive low cost drivetrain with Andy Baker, etc… etc…
Season-wise I think it would be awesome if you published some basic videos on crimping (as you mentioned), how to break chains (And where to buy a quality chain breaker, you have no idea how many our team has broken…), and how to solder connections. Those resources would be great for rookie teams who have non-engineering mentors. I would certainly love to see you guys post specs/instructions on your custom builds, that way teams have a summer project to work on (not to mention it would boost sales in the off-season).
Not sure you want to gear an arm with Andy, his teeth may not mesh very well. Especially after the gnashing of teeth at St. Louis when told his team’s robot was illegal.
Oh man do I have some ideas, but I have to formulate most of them for you first.
I think it would be really cool if you have a section like “AndyMark beyond FIRST” that can feature other uses of AndyMark Products. These can be as simple as featuring the stuff you guys tinker with in the shop or more advanced crowd sourced segments featuring how-tos by teams that use your parts to make t-shirt cannons, other robots, etc.
I think a video showing how to wire sensors and encoders and connect them to the digital sidecar/analog module would be handy.
(It was pretty intimidating to cope with that for the first time last year…)
Although it may seem basic, “How to assemble a kitbot chassis with CIM motors” would be nice. Including wheels, sprockets and chain.
Care and feeding of (name the gearbox) - assembly, lubrication and break-in. CIMple box, supershifters, etc…
A tour of AndyMark - office, warehouse, production(?), Order picking/fulfillment, shipping & receiving. It would be nice to meet the team and see the facility!
I’d like to see a “how to design the best motor + gearbox combo”. Some people who may or may not be on our team might need a “how to tell if you are using too much lubricant” video.
Absolutely - and while we’re at it, do both long and wide configuration. Many times the kit will go together in an obvious fashion in one direction, but when you want to do the other orientation it’s not so obvious.
