Pre-2019 Season Organization Tips

I strongly urge the team to organize the shop well, before they leave for Christmas.  This not only serves as a preseason inventory and clean up session, it also provides the students involved an opportunity to lead in an important part of the team as well as educate themselves on the FRC parts and standard shop tools.  This is also a valuable way for team members to know where stuff should go, and how future generations of McKinley Tech students can learn the name of an item, where it goes in the shop, and how to find out more information on the part.  

Every student should identify and organize at least 2 items a day to start, more as they get better.  Make an ID card for items.  Use clear tape to tape it to the box or shelf holding said item.  

1)  Name of item.  Large font (20+ point Font, if possible)

2)  Picture of item.  

3)  Link(s) to website(s) where an industrious person can find out more information.  Could be manufacturer website.  

4)  Other things??

5)  Name of person making the ID card at the bottom.

Where possible, make it easy to sort like items by size, etc.  (Drills have their own big green case, for instance.)

Some things, like all the random motors in the motor box, should probably have their own zip lock baggie with the ID index card (3" x 5") in the baggie with the motor.    

The above information should be in a word processor file (Word, whatever) and saved in a central file system, in case it needs to be altered by a future student.

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Fasteners

With the vast range of fastener types, sizes, etc, the problem could become overwhelming really, really, really fast.  

The following should be printed and used in doing the inventory:  

https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Printable-Tools/Printable-Fastener-Tools.pdf

https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Printable-Tools/Default.aspx

2018 Websites

While a lot of my old links from previous years probably still work, I wanted to make a small list of the best-of websites, to help educate new FIRST students and/or mentors.

2017 Reveal Videos

While I did not participate in the 2017 season much, I still decided to make up a list of reveal videos.

118
148
1986

2016 Reveal videos

To be edited as I identify more reveal videos.
Playlist from FRC Designs.
118  Robot launches hook for climbing.  Literally, they launch the hook.
148
171
179
188
610
668
1108
1155
1635
1690
1747
1797
1986  Tape measure used to deploy climbing hooks....wow.  Lightweight and efficient.
2053
2403
2590
2630
2638
2848
3211
3339
3354
3386
3481
3504
3646
3847
3990
4028
4276
4488
4522
4611
4613
4939
5699
5817
5829
5951

FRC 2016 Warm Up Post

FIRST has significantly changed the layout of their website for 2016.

COMPETITION MANUAL PAGE LINK.  Members of Team 1915 will have to do their homework to ensure success.   For starters, all team members must read and know the rules.  The unencrypted Game Manual and an encrypted version of the field drawing package have been posted online!

Field Tour Videos are posted too.

Other important FRC links will be posted below, as I learn about them:

2016 FRC Control System :  EVERYONE on the team should know the control system components, the name of each component and its basic function.  Build team electricians and computer programmers should know these documents very well, and use them on a regular basis.

Various teams of engineers will be posting useful videos/comments on the "Robot in 3 days" webpages.  Team members should subscribe to these sites and follow the progress of the various engineering teams.

http://www.robotin3days.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/robotin3days

2015 FRC Pneumatics Manual.  Probably still quite relevant.  And a Pneumatics Presentation.

Motor Power Documents.  VEXpro does a nice job of explaining DC motors, power, etc, very directly.

2015 Reveal Videos

I'll post links to reveal/teaser/update videos posted by teams as I find them.

Most (NOT ALL) videos are on my 2015 Robot Reveal Playlist in YouTube.

Team 148, RoboWranglers
A team "robot" with three distinct, separate/separable parts.
One part moves totes and recycle Containers to stacking platforms.
One part stacks totes from human players.
One part pulls the Recycle Containers into the Autonomous area via a cable. (See 0:52 of video.)

Team 118.  Robonauts.
The robot has the capability to pull two cans from across the landfill, probably during autonomous.

Team 179, Children of the Swamp.  (SwampThing, Florida)  Innovative use of mecanum to lift Recycle Containers.

Team 230, GaelHawks.
Frankly, I'll post anybody's video that features AC/DC.

Team 3293, Otterbots

Team 3360, Hyperion
Shifting swerve drive, pictures here  here, here, here, and here.  Nice.

Team 1657.  Hamosad.  (Israel)
The robot is an assembly line, taking totes from the chute, directly to the scoring platform, and another element of the robot stacks them there.  Innovative, for sure.

Team 1208

Team 4488 Shockwave.

Team 2283, Panteras, (Mexico)
Stacks at loading station.

Team 3939, Robotic Knights.
They actually deal with upside down totes.  (But it is tedious and time consuming.)

Team 610, Coyotes.
Steals the center two recycle bins in auto.  Also, interesting use of constant force springs.

Team 4905.

Team 3316, DBug

Team 348.

Team 1189, Gearheads

Team 4063, TRikzR4kiDz

Team 624, CRyptonite

Team 2848, All Sparks
A four-can grabber.  Just a glimpse of it, but still, a four can grabber.

Team 2614.  MARS.

Team 5576 (Rookie) Drive Video List.

Team 314, StarScream

Team 2335.

Team 4481.   Rembrandts.

Team 2914

Team 3506 Yeti.

Team 3310, Warhawk.  Two Recycle Container grabber.

Team 157, Aztecs.

Team 3802, RoboPOP

Team 2039, Rockford Robotics.

Team 5172.

Team 2059.

Team 1648, DJenga.

Team 16, Baxter Bomb Squad.  Pulls two Recycle Containers back at the same time, from across the landfill.

Team 1986, Team Titanium.

Team 2485, W.A.R. Lords

Team 2990, Hotwire Robotics.

Team 4476.  W.A.F.F.L.E.S.

Team 1294.  Top Gun.

Team 3683.  Team Dave.

Team 3735.  Klein Bots.

Team 2468.  Team Appreciate.

Team 5413.  Stellar Robotics.

Team 4536.  The Minute Bots.  Zenith

Team 1318.  Issaquah Robotics Society.

Team 1747.  Harrison Boiler Robotics.  Scorpio.

Team 2601.  Steel Hawks.  Raptor.  (Similar to 1915 concepts.)

Team 4522.  Team Scream.  Kong.

Team 3966.  L & N STEMpunks.  Calypstote.

Team 4334.  Alberta Tech Alliance.  Elevation.

Team 343.  Arm Strong 2.0.

Team 2679.  Tiger Team.  (Israel)

Team 5254.  Robot Raiders.  Pictures

Team 4039.  MakeShift Robotics.

Team 4301.  New Tech Narcissists.  Nom Nom.

Team 1540.  Flaming Chickens.  Quasar.

Team 2471.  Mean Machine.  Swerve Drive.

Team 5236.  T.I.M.

Team 1676.  Reaper.  Another designed with a quick-grab-the-recycle-containers-on-the-step system.

Team 706.  Cyberhawks.

Team 5172.

Team 696.  Centurion.  Photo/blog link.

Team 2607.  RoboVikings.  Photo link.

Team 3467.  Spitfire.  Very effective, very unique design.  It has a lifting platform with rollers.  Rather complicated.

Team 1937.

Team 701.  Picture.

Team 4613.  Australia.  Nice intake from the human loading station.

2015 Game Analyses and Prototypes

Team members should review this excellent information on game analyses and robot prototypes.

Impractical, but interesting 13 second video, placing a Recycle Container on a six tote stack.  Done using their 2014 robot.

Look over everything on the BuildBlitz site, but pay special attention to the Strategic Analysis of the game itself.  Ri3D 1.0 Game Analysis.

The  RobotIn3Day teams have posted their analyses and prototypes.  Seven teams participated, and all seven have posted videos of their results.  Great job all!!!

Links listed in order of interesting results.  For more information, review their earlier YouTube videos on the RobotIn3Days YouTube channel.

Ri3D 1.0 Reveal. Detailed discussion on Ri3D Robot.  Game piece manipulator discussion:  Perhaps the most important part of the robot to get right, and they do a great job.  Day Two Review.

oRyon final product.  Excellent stability while stacking Totes with Recycle Containers on top.  Electrical and Pneumatics review.

Team REDACTED  A few failures, but ultimately success.
Team REDACTED "Practice Match."  Stacking 6 with a pool noodle in the Recycle Container on top.  Mock Inspection.

Snow Problem Reveal.  
Snow Problem lifter.  Grabber Prototyping.

Team Greenhorn.  Interesting crate gripper.  Similar design could be used for the end of the crates.  Video List.

Team Indiana 

Team Tesla Reveal.   Tesla, Days 1, 2, 3.


An interesting robot concept posted on Chief Delphi:  Create a stack of totes internal to the robot, then deploy the stack to the stacking platform.  Hmmm....

VEXpro Analyses

Drive Train
Claw Design

New 2015 Technical Documents

New Technical Documents posted by FIRST.

The new documents are especially important to Electricians and Programmers.

Talon SRX documents on VEXpro:
Talon SRX User's Guide
Talon SRX Software User's Guide

2015 Quiz One

Here is the Open Book test/homework, due Monday.

2015 Post Kickoff

The 2015 game is Recycle Rush.

Game Manual.

Notes on the 2015 control system.  Click on the links to get details on every part.

RGB LED Light Strips

Many teams are now using Light Strips to decorate their pit area and/or their robot.  These go by various names, and some are slightly different technologies, but they are all based on having LED lights in a shape (usually a strip, sometimes a block or a ring).

Here are some interesting links:
Adafruit: 'NeoPixel Uberguide'
The "NeoPixel" string of LEDs are super, in that they are individually programmable.  A bit pricer, however.  Each LED is individually addressable by a computer signal, enabling each LED to have its own intensity in Red, Green or Blue (RGB).  These can be programmed by Arduinos, among other platforms.

SuperNight LED strip on Amazon
These SuperNight LED strips are cheaper, but, from what I can tell, can only be programmed by the whole string being one color and one color only.  You can make the color different, but it is still one color for all lights on the string at any one time.  And I don't know how to use an Arduino to program it.

Multiple vendors sell these strings.  To get them working, you'll need to read the directions pretty carefully.  I had to do a bit of soldering and a little Arduino programming.  Once I got all the parts in place, it took me about a day to get everything running properly.

Free Books!

Not comic books......Science and Technology type stuff.

Seriously, free digital books.  Mostly on programming, mathematics, software architecture, etc.!!

Electrical Wiring for 2015

As FIRST is introducing a new control system for 2015, we are also going to upgrade some of our electrical procedures.  For starters, we are going to be much more aggressive about using Anderson PowerPoles to wire our motors and other components.

Team electricians should closely read the following pages, so that they understand how to use the Anderson PowerPole system and how the Anderson PowerPoles function.

30 Amp PowerPoles 

Crimper and Manual

PowerPole Distribution Options
Third Party Tutorial on PowerPoles and assembly

Lavery Speech at 2014 Championship in St Louis.

Check out the YouTube video.

Pre-Season 2015: Software Downloads and Training

FIRST supplier Autodesk has released their 2015 software.  We use Autodesk Inventor Professional to design the robot.  Download the software and watch the training videos.

National Instruments has posted their 2014 LabView software for FRC on line.  Download LabView, and watch the training videos.

Pre-Season Training 2015--Second look at old links

For basic technical robotic concepts, these blog posts deserve a second look:
Design Process Resources--In particular, look at Team 234's business plan and business plan templates.
Robotics Tutorials

2015 Pre-Season Training---Lesson One

Firebirds,

Time to start training for the 2015 season. We each must know the fundamentals of the standard components of the FIRST robotics system.  At the very least, we must at least know the names and the basic function of the various standard components.  As the components for 2015 will be different from 2014, all of us need to take a few minutes to familiarize ourselves with the information.

Here is a two page lesson I've written up, with some links to videos and pictures.  Concentrate on the RED links.  Don't worry about memorizing all the details of these documents, just be sure to that you can recognize and name each component and briefly describe (in one sentence) what each component does.

Examples:
The battery is 12V and stores energy for the robot.
The main circuit breaker is the on/off switch for the robot and protects the robot circuits.
A motor controller regulates the power to the motors according to a signal from the robot controller.

We'll get into the systems more as we develop the training program more extensively.

Autodesk Inventor

Mechanical Information

I will use this section to post mechanical resources, especially those that give standard sizes, etc.

Boltdepot.com has a very good collection of fastener information.
SDP-SI has a good collection of belt and gear information.
Pipeline Industries has posted engineering calculations for force associated with latex surgical tubing at various elongations.
Free Technical Charts has...free technical charts!
Gates Belt Theory

Roller Chain measurements

White Paper on CD, belts vs chains


Drive Train Calculator

              

Robotics Tutorials

SparkFun has a lot of useful products, especially sensors.  They also have a lot of good tutorials.  They have just started up a video series on concepts in robots.  A few minutes each, they do a good job of explaining basic concepts.  The first video is a bit of a promo of their series and new products, but later videos concentrate on the concepts more.  I recommend that you go to the intro video, and subscribe.

Robotics 101
Intro
Angular Motion
Linear Motion
Transfer of Motion
Precision Motion
Mechanical Structure
Tools


As always, SparkFun has an extensive Learn section on their website, with tutorials and curricula available.

Related Video:
Mechanical Principles (1930) * by Ralph Steiner
Mechanical Video

Kickoff Links and Announcements for 2014

FRC Blog announcements

Key elements of this announcement

1)  FIRST has released the game manual.  Be sure to read the whole manual.

2)  Computer software, such as the National Instruments LabView program which we will use, are now available for download and installation on your computer.  Download the LabView DVD and the FRC update now.  The authorization code was issued in the Kit of Parts for 2014.

National Instruments has also significantly re-worked much of their training and software pages.

3)  Field tour videos  are posted on the FRC youtube channel.