PARTS INVENTORY / TRACKING

PARTS ORGANIZATION

• Determine where you will store all your parts, those from the KOP (Kit Of Parts) from FIRST and those additional parts you will use to build your robot and will need for your team.

INVENTORY

• Create an inventory of your KOP and ensure the inventory and any additional purchased materials list is up-to-date

LABELLING

• Label your parts as you see appropriate. Some veteran teams label their parts by year so that they can tell them apart from previous years' kits. You should not have this problem initially, but you still might want to label your parts anyway.

WEIGHTS

• Identify a team member to weigh all motors and parts you believe you will use.
• Keep these weights handy as you work through your design in order to estimate your total bot weight.

PURCHASING ADDITIONAL PARTS / SUPPLIES

• Do not hesitate to purchase parts you will need for your robot design / construction. Use the FIRST vendors in the current year documentation. Determine the lead time to purchase parts and how your school / purchasing department works to acquire materials. If you need to expedite your orders due to your internal processes, do it ASAP.

• TIP - Determine who has the authority to expedite this process and engage him/her/them early, preferably before the build season starts.
  

DESIGN OF OPERATOR CONTROL STATION

Discuss with other subteams what control functions (range of motion, degree of control, and desired mode of control) will be required for each mechanical system.  Discuss with competition team the preferred way to map joystick / pushbuttons and to design the auxiliary control box.  Design and order all parts for the auxiliary control box.  Discuss to assure adequacy of I/O ports for desired control functions.  Begin assembly of prototype operator interface.

The control station is how your competition team controls the robot.  The FIRST kit provides everything you need to implement most control functions.  The joysticks with multiple triggers and buttons can be programmed to handle various functions.

One decision you need to make is if you plan to have single or dual joystick control.  Using a single joystick to control your robot is probably what you are used to.  Most video games use single joystick operator interface.  If you decide on the dual joystick scheme, the control inputs are similar to driving a tank, or a zero-turning radius lawn mower.  Most teams seem to find the single joystick set-up easier to use.

The rules have always allowed for two operators to control the robot.  If you decide to split the control responsibilities, you need to give some thought to the ergonomics of your control station layout.  In the heat of a match you do not want your operator combo banging into each other as they try to score points.  You will need to provide each operator with his/her own dedicated controls on one portable panel.  One operator could have a joystick for driving and the other a bank of switches for controlling the warp drive.

When you design your operator control station, keep in mind that it must be able to quickly and easily be setup and removed.  FIRST gives you very little time between matches and provides a skinny shelf behind the Plexiglas™ of the alliance station for your control station to sit on.

It is preferable to mount everything on a board or metal plate so the control station travels as a unit.  Don’t forget to leave access so you can plug in the interface cables that are part of the playing field.

BUILDING A CART

The cart seems like a simple thing that can be left to the last minute but a well designed cart is worth its weight in gold.  It is not only absolutely critical to have a cart to move the robot from pit to field, but we also use it as a stand to hold our robot during repairs.  Here are some things that we think about when designing a cart. First we design it so that the robot is supported in a way that allows the wheels and other functions, such as arms, to be fully tested on the cart.  We keep the overall height low enough so that the robot and cart can go through a standard doorway.  

Try to use the largest wheels possible, as they will make it easier to climb over the uneven surfaces that you will find at the competitions.  

Two of the wheels should be casters, the other two fixed.  This provides the optimum in maneuverability. If possible, wheels with locks may be options to consider. Also, you should have a shelf on the cart for all the tools you will need to fix those last minute repairs we always have to do while waiting on line for a match.  A cup holder is not a bad idea, also.  :-)

CONTINUE MAKING SPARE PARTS

Spare parts are an important part of building the robot.  The rules on when to make spares changes every year so be sure you read the manual thoroughly and keep reading all of the team updates.  We try to make spares of any part that requires special equipment to fabricate or of parts that we expect to fail during a match.  The best time to start building spares is during week 5 and 6.  The robot is essentially complete by this time and as the students become available we put them on building spares.  Having the robot there to copy from is a good reason to start on the spares before the ship date.