Design and Engineering
- As we do not rely on computers and technology to design or build our robot, we truly struggled with determining which award best suited our robot and our team. We even worried that we weren't eligible for any of the awards. But we are proud of what we accomplished with equipment and techniques that other view as "old school" and would love to be considered.
- Engineering Excellence
- Creativity
- Industrial Design
- Quality
- Engineering Inspiration (we are just getting started in this area)
- As we do not rely on drafting programs such as AutoCAD, Solid Works, or several of the other CADD variants to design our robot, or have access to fancy machines or techniques such as CNC machines and plasma cutters to fabricate our robot, we brought it back to the basics and focused more heavily on the fundamentals. We had to rely on 'old-fashioned' techniques to build our robot with a detailed plan in mind.
- As building things from scratch takes more time, we did not have the luxury to rebuild things over and over, so planning was essential. Complicating things more, we do not have the financial resources to start over. We had to get things close to right the first time or close enough that we could make small modifications to improve our design and performance.
About Our Initial Design Process:
- Our design phase lasted about three days fuelled by pen and paper, basing our thought processes on imagery and good old problem solving. Coming up with designs and systems to overcome each game challenge as they came and achieve the functions we wished for was the foundation of our team’s thought process.
- Once we had an idea, we had to tailor it to fit both our budget, our limited shop resources, and our knowledge base.
To the Shop - Design and Fabrication Process:
- Once again, we do not use computer drafting software.
- Our plans were drawn out on paper or sketched onto the shop floor with chalk. We did our calculations, double and triple checked, and built.
- Our design was made to be versatile, aiming to be able to score in every way possible. Our robot was broken down into different parts, the mast, the chassis and the bucket. Each part was designed and fabricated with every con and concern in mind. The integration of each system in regards to one another was done with input from each member, regardless of skill level.
- Our work ethic pushed us to put a high priority on taking any idea and finding a mechanical way to utilize and fabricate it no matter how ridiculous it seemed.
- In order to keep the robot light, we continually drilled holes into the bucket, therefore dubbing our robot “Swiss Cheese”.
Excellence in Engineering Award:
- We would like to discuss our arm system and our piston lift system.
- See discussions below for creativity, quality, and Industrial Design awards.