2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog

Due to a manufacturing error we are issuing an immediate recall of part no. 1010081. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. The part requires a bore to .722 in order to fit onto the 5/8 hex shaft. If you lack the tools necessary to carry out this change please notify us. We can be reached by post, phone, or email. Thank you again for your patience and understanding and as always, choose Team 254.

We now have bumper fabric.  The picture below shows the colors.  The material and color looks great in person, better than the picture.

Today, wiring was done on the practice robot.

PWM Mapping

PWMs are labeled in a counterclockwise fashion, starting with PWM #1 in the upper left corner of the above picture and finishing with PWM #8 in the upper right corner of the picture above.

Today our procurement personell spent the day picking up several parts and materials, including plywood for the bumpers and switches, wire, and LEDs for the control boards.  The plywood selected for the bumpers is a premium quality 12-Ply 3/4" Russian Baltic Birch.  The 5" height blanks were cut today, and will be cut to length tomorrow.  Below is a picture of cutting the bumper pieces.

The picture below shows construction and testing of the LED driver circuits for the control board.

Finally, we picked up the other two upper arm segments from welding. They are shown in the picture below.  These are for 254.

DESIGN

The design is coming along and is almost finalized.  The roller assembly is completely finalized and several small details need to be ironed out elsewhere on the robot.

MANUFACTURING

The manufacturing team worked hard today to produce several lathe parts including the drivetrain shifter shafts, the drivetrain shifter shaft spacers and the rear axles (which needed encoder holes drilled in them).  The CNC team did plate work today, making the drivetrain piston mount plates and starting on the kicker plates.

PART PROCUREMENT

The [hopefully] last batch of parts from McMaster has been ordered, giving us the parts to complete our rollers.  Two AndyMark orders have also arrived, allowing us to proceed on modifying the roller sprockets for transportation to 968.

PRACTICE FIELD SET-UP

Today, the lab contained a large group of students intent on completing important field setup tasks.  The side borders have been setup and the towers have been placed in their final position.  Some of the bumps are laid out but we are still waiting on carpet from FIRST.

CRATE BUILDING

The crate building team worked hard today to attach the last remaining side (the bottom) to the metal frame using wood screws.  Several vinyl stickers were also cut and applied to the crate.

After an all-night machining marathon last night, the arm parts were completed to be welded today.  Our generous supporter Foes Racing was able to align and tack weld all the pieces into place this evening. Foes did the welding for the launcher and top arm in 2008 also.   Below are some quick snapshots of the parts just before leaving Foes for the evening.  The arm parts will be welded tomorrow night.  Please take a close look at how everything is assembled, and quickly bring it to our attention if anything seems incorrect.

Efforts were made to align holes in waterjetted pieces with holes in the box tube pieces, and to ensure squareness during the tack-welding process.  After welding is complete, a 0.875 reamer and a 1.250 reamer will be needed to enlarge the holes in the waterjetted pieces.  Additionally, all threaded holes still need to be drilled and tapped.

The official FIRST field components arrived today and were taken inside to be inventoried (and played with).

Field setup will begin in the next few days, as soon as we determine which building we will be setting it up in.   If you get the chance, please thank Mark Leon and NASA for their generosity and support in getting us these field components.  Please remember; we were lucky enough to receive these field components with the understanding that we would open our lab up and invite the other Bay Area teams to utilize it whenever possible.  Let's make sure we are gracious and welcoming hosts when they arrive, and that we fully understand how lucky we are to have the opportunity to help everyone out.  We also need to take care of these components and keep them nice, as we can expect to use them at all of the local scrimmages and events that require a full sized field.

MANUFACTURING

The manufacturing team has been working hard to produce a myriad of parts.  The CNC has been running to finish the Dogs and start on parts for the Kicker.  The lathe has been working to produce all of the shafts and spacers needed in the kicker.

DESIGN

The design team has been working hard to design the roller system, the final major robot system to be designed.  The plates will be sent out for waterjet cutting at BAE systems tomorrow.  The CAD predicts the robot weight at about 110 lbs, but does not include certain items such as pneumatic tubing, fittings and all wiring.

Today we were able to cut out the polycarbonate for a control board on the CNC router at Glendale Community College.  It took much longer than expected, due to the polycarb melting at any feed rate over 18 IPM, even with a constant cool air blast on the endmill.  Machine setup took about 75 minutes, and fixturing, cutting, and removing the panels took about an hour.   Tomorrow evening we will finish cutting the second board.  Below is a picture of the assembled control board.

The manufacturing department was very understaffed today due to the superbowl(I guess?)

We've completed the milled slots on the 1 x 2 Arm sides(1010084)