Robotics 2018-19 season

  • The first day

    The first day
    We began to watch videos of this years game, Turning Point. Videos are very important to watch to take the best designs of each robot and combine them to make the best. We decided to start with a robot that would flip caps and stack them on poles.
  • Time to test the base

    Time to test the base
    After one week of building it is time to test the base of the robot. We are finding that we want to make it higher so its able to go up the platform. It goes far to slow so we will have a 6 motor base all high speed.
  • Making the base final

    Making the base final
    We added a 1 inch lift kit onto our robot and is now able to drive up the platform. It went perfect speed and and has good power for these motors. We were quite happy with how it functioned.
  • Adding the Cap Stacker

    Adding the Cap Stacker
    This week was all about adding a 6 bar lift to stack the caps on poles. We needed enough height but were constricted to an 18" by 18" cube.
  • Adding Power to the Lift

    Adding Power to the Lift
    To add power to the lift we wanted to first test a 1:5 gear ratio. Along with having just 2 motors run it. We would also add rubber bands to reduce the load on the motors.
  • Autonomous

    Autonomous
    Autonomous is a preprogrammed task and the robot is to perform that function on its own. The next few weeks would be all about making a good autonomous to compete in our first competition on January 5th 2019. We also have Christmas break which we rarely work over.
  • First Competition

    First Competition
    After competing in our first competition we realized that our cap stacker is tough to operate. We were also watching other robots and their main task was to launch balls at the flags. We thought maybe that should be our next goal.
  • Adding Ball Puncher

    Adding Ball Puncher
    For the weeks to come it was all about adding a ball launcher. We watched other robots and their design on how they did it. First we needed a combine type intake to grab the ball. That would then go up 3 rollers to the shooting part. Then we needed to design a puncher that would hit the ball to then hit the flags.
  • State Competiton

    State Competiton
    We had a total of 4 competitions to test our robot in before state. We felt pretty confident going in because we had nearly everything perfected. We ended up sweeping state including tournament champions, skills champions, excellence award, and my favorite, the design award. We also qualified for the worlds competition in Louisville, Kentucky. We were super happy and our robot did exactly what it was supposed to.
  • After State

    After State
    Since state we have decided to begin work on another robot. First we needed to get the new equipment which includes V5. It will be a very similar robot and perform the same tasks but hopefully in a quicker manner. If we can perfect this robot and make it good we plan to take this to the worlds competition.