Well the title is pretty much the question. So what things would you have in your dream shop or even great things you may have now that are unique? this can be anything such as stuff like judging station, etc. now go Crazy.
Well who can say that they haven’t wanted to play with one of these.
The coolest thing you can have for your robotics site is better than the newest shiniest mill, more powerful than the One Million Gig computer lab and even beats two kilometers of space! It’s a key that gives you access to your shop that doesn’t leave you beholden to a school or a place of business. You can come and go as you please to do the work that needs to be done. NOW THAT IS A COOL FEATURE (which we have)!
The TechnoKats already have an amazing place. Plenty of room, plenty of tools large and small, plenty of electricity, a Coke machine, a large door to the outside, lots of storage space, a full-sized practice field…and availability even when the school is closed.
I’d add two things to make it even more awesome: a convenient restroom, and sanctioned internet access.
It sure would be nice to have a shop that wouldn’t need to be cleaned up at the end of each work session!
I agree!
You mean it comes with one of these (or an army of them if you really are messy)?
http://www.mobtech.it/wp-content/rosie.jpg
More space
Administrators, politicians who can make a difference in placing education, science, and technology as a priority for our children and their future, sponsors, students, and parents who ‘get it’.
We have a wonderful space/shop. It would be nice if more folks knew about it and understood it better. We keep putting the word out there. 
possibly those politicians and administrators could dedicate some of those resorces to replace some of the ancient machines in our shop (i swear some of them are older than our coach, and that is oooooold) and possibly upgrade us from a “trainer” cnc mill with it’s little 1/8" endmill!
i <3 our shop as it is, but i wish they would let us use the gym to practice on!
or one of these
My team seriously needs one of these, then maybe we can fit the couch that we’ve been dreaming about for months (The programmers would take it over, though).
If that thing recycled we could make enough money off diet coke cans to pay for the kit. (or the new controller) :ahh:
My dream shop would be full of cabinets, drawers, etc. just like it is now. They would all be labeled, just like they are now. But, everyone would put the parts back in the right drawer, not just me. That way we’d all be able to find things, instead of relying on Ellen.
Also, I’m with Koko Ed that it would be great to get into the shop without having to worry about the school, what hours our janitors are working, etc.
It is important to note that these coke cans are half-filled and are literally ALL OVER THE PLACE! :eek: It seems that our mentors are primarily responsible for this mess, even though there are only a few of them…
Yup…let’s keep working on it. And Bertucci is younger than me, Lewis. 
They could be ancient instead of oooooold. Oh wait they are…
*Enough small hand-tools so that everyone can have their own.
*A vacuum system that cleans up all the shavings and dust instantly.
*A full size, exact match, regulation practice field.
*An infinite supply and excellent selection of materials, all perfectly organized.
*water fountains and mountain dew fountains
*enough computers so that anyone can CAD or program, anytime.
*Plasma, laser, and regular CNC machines.
*A nice powder coating machine
And of course in the dream shop you need…
The ultimate FIRST team who can design the ultimate robot every year!!
Rosie does not even clean up her own shop, we’re not going to clean up the X-Cats too!!
Andy Baker clone.
CNC machines to make new complex parts and the ability to weld. And if we’re really pushing the envelope, I want a trap door that goes right into the andymark storeroom so that we can get parts instantly.
Assuming we can’t clone Baker (or Copioli, or JVN, or any other mentor), my dream shop would have the following:
a) Clean, unlocked bathrooms (you laugh, but…)
b) Suitable internet access, including making sure CD is unfiltered. (This was an issue on 1618 early on; fortunately, it was unblocked quickly once the request went in.)
c) Enough white-board space to ensure we can write things as we desire without having to worry about erasing immediately.
d) Storage for several old robots, and decently-organized materials.
e) Doors wide enough to allow a robot with bumpers to fit through easily.
f) A real water fountain, one that puts out a stream of water about as thick as your pinkie finger. When it’s easier to drink the water, people drink the water.
g) A fridge for storing team drinks. (We use the teachers’ lounge across the hall for this task.)
h) Enough computers to do what we need to do, and enough space away from them when we need kids to focus. (This we have.)
i) Enough carpeted space to build the relevant field elements.
j) Enough tools to assemble a robot well. (We’re not there yet, but we’re slowly growing our resources.)
k) A large-format printer. (I used the University of South Carolina’s for making 1618’s last two robots’ side panels, and it really has about the perfect combination of cost, flexibility, and visibility to do the job. I imagine we could also have some fun with monocoque, if we chose.)
l) The ability to allow a pair of vetted mentors to come in and run meetings without a school employee present. (Burnout kills, y’know.)
I may think up more later.
Massive server space, a comfy programming corner, (as everyone else said) maid service, an automatic can recycler (how awesome would it be to have a robot made out of recycles mountain dew cans???), even better welding stations, Replicas of the most successful FIRST robots (so rookies can see how they work, and so we can figure out some engineering tricks…), food, and a massively awesome organization system, a feild, and many things that I prolly forgot.