Blog

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)

Manufacturing:

Tonight we completed the four piston bearing blocks (1010073) for the kicker winch.  These took much longer than anticipated using manual machines.   Below is a picture of the completed parts:

For the small piston bearing blocks (1010019) we hope to have a CNC lathe available tomorrow evening.  Tomorrow we hope to cut out the control boards as well, on a CNC router.

The 1 x 2 x.125 box tube parts for the arm structure have been cut, and are currently undergoing milling and drilling operations, and preparation for welding this week.

After receiving our frames very late last night, we began wiring today.  We mounted all of the electronics and ran the 4 gauge primary power wires.

We then proceeded to run wires for the Victor 884 speed controllers.  After several separate configurations, the most popular involves running each Victor power wire independently and not zip-tying them together at all.

Besides working on the frames, the manufacturing department continued to lathe a myriad of spacers and standoffs for the kicker and drive gearboxes.  The CNC was working hard all day to cut dog ridges into our two separate dog gears and the dog lock plate.

A large group of students also worked hard all day on 254's crate, ending with painting it.

Today we completed the 32 bumper mounting pins and brackets, and 20 control board spacers.  The bumper mounting scheme is nearly identical to the 968 2009 bumpers.  The finished parts are shown below.

Next, we hope to cut the control board polycarbonate on a CNC router, and machine the piston bearing blocks (cones) on a CNC lathe.  Additionally, we will be cutting the 1x2 box tube parts needed for the arms.

Design: The team has finalized CAD designs for our kicking device and has finalized all mechanisms.

Parts: A set of  manufactured parts has been sent to our sister team, 968.

Manufacturing: We are continuing manufacture of dogs for our kicker shaft.

Design: T-shirt designs finalized!

In short, 254 is well on its way to finishing the robot (name TBD)

Here's a picture of everything  completed so far (Minus gearbox plates and sprockets, which are out to anodize, and frames).

We haz powdercoat.

Unfortunately, Central Powder Coating was not well staffed today. They will have the 254 frames powdercoated blue streak #2 tomorrow morning.

We will be picking up the blue frames tomorrow at 10AM.