Blog
526 posts from the build season and beyond.
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Bumpers and Control Boards Started
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Design, Manufacturing, Part Procurement, Crate Building & Field Setup Progress
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Arm Parts and Welding
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Field Parts Have Arrived!
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Manufacturing & Design Progress
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Control Board Progress
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Weekend Progress: Update
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)
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Weekend Progress
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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We have robots.
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Bumper Mounting and Control Board Parts
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Closer to Completion
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…
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog
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Finished Parts
Here’s a picture of everything completed so far (Minus gearbox plates and sprockets, which are out to anodize, and frames).
2010 Teams 254/968 Collaborative Build Blog