#frc1529

This school year’s exploits of FRC 1529 were more than satisfactory. The good news is we’ve done a bunch of cool stuff this year that will interest you. We played some good robots, and our team has beautifully developed into a wonderful cornucopia of talent and diversity. There is so much to discuss, but today we only have time to elaborate on the infamous happenings of the Queen City Regional. Listen up.

Robot Assembly

Our marvelous win/loss record of 3-9-0 wasn’t the best, but during qualification match 91, paired up with FRC 4275 and FRC 1646, we were knocked over during play. Miraculously, we looked towards the heavens and summoned the strength to force ourselves back on our wheels to continue the match! Also, in the pits, multiple judges came to the pit asking about the team, robot, and safety even before opening ceremonies. Our Chairman’s presentation was a spewing success. Although one of our presenters lost their voice, the presenters still had a great time.

1529 in Action

This year’s Queen City Regional was amazing for the team and we all had a fun time. 1529 is looking forward to our summer activities. We hope to come back to Queen City next year! If we are unable to replicate this success next year or better ourselves, we will strive to be even better the next year.

Good Times on the Field

Tonight was the annual Scholastic Recognition Awards Program at Southport High. Several CyberCards were honored tonight for their work outside the team. We’re proud to have such a smart and socially active group of students! Emma – Freshman – White River Academic League member Jeremy – Freshman – WRAL and Brain Game Team Member Tiger – Freshman – WRAL and BG member Kendall – Senior – Academic Letter, Marion County Principals’ Award Alex – Senior – Academic Competition Letter, Academic Letter, Brain Game Team Captain, White River Academic League Captain, and Boilermaker Regional Dean’s List Finalist Congratulations to all our awesome CyberCards!

Pretty cool news – lead engineer Danny Blau was selected as the winner of the 2014 CollegeMentors.org Inspire Award winner for the Technology, Manufacturing, and Engineering category.  Danny has worked tirelessly with the CyberCard students to create our 2014 entry.  He’s been a great addition to the team.

I’d like to take some time to discuss some of the tricks we’ve utilized in the design of this robot.

First, let’s talk about the wings.

We found that the best compression for the ball in a wheeled shooter is 2″ (Thanks 868 and 2383).  So during match play, the insides of the shooter and indexer wheels are 22″ apart.  Unfortunately, this means the arms don’t fit within the frame perimeter at the start of the match.  So, we created a system in which the arms will rest inside the FP at the beginning of the match.

Arm centering device

  To get the spacing right, we put spacers over a 1/4-20 bolt and wrapped electrical tape around.  This puts the arms just so they rest against the tape, but can expand out.  We can also easily alter this during the event if things get too loose or too tight.

In our starting position, the ball will rest on top of the outstretched arms.

Pre-Match Configuration

At the start of Autonomous mode, we will drive the shooter wheels inward, pulling the ball in and spreading out the arms.

At this point, the arms will flex out to our preferred 22″ wheel-to-wheel distance.  The arms will come to rest against another set of 1/4-20 bolts with spacers in place.

  The shooter wheels will continue to draw the ball into the robot, and the indexing wheels (AndyMark Stealth Wheels, designed by CyberCard engineer Danny Blau) will pull the ball all the way in.

    At this point, the arm turrets will aim for the shot, the shooter wheels will spin outward, and once they reach speed, the indexer wheels will push the ball up and propelled out by the shooter wheels.

We will put in a limit switch inside the yellow beak so the driver/operator can get feedback that the ball is securely in the robot.

Long day!

FRC 1529 is glad we have a group of dedicated mentors and students who are willing to take the time to finish the 10% we have left.

The arms are together and the team will be finalizing the wiring and programming Monday.

More Assembly

The team is going to head home to get some sleep, but  we want to give a shout out to VEX Team 4606A the Technomancers from Noblesville West Middle School for being Finalists at Warren VEX qualifier this weekend. Congratulations on the great work!

~CyberCards