Difference between revisions of "DEWBOT XI Build"

Revision as of 17:18, 18 January 2015

The true raison d'être for FRC is found during build season, not in competition. This is where you learn. Pressure is high. Here you face your biggest challenges, and either overcome them, or are overcome by them. Build season is the lesson; competition is simply the exam.

Students join our team throughout the year, and most see competitions before build season, especially off-season events. Still, these students are rookies until they have passed through their first build season. Trial by fire.

Or perhaps, trial by ice this year. We were extremely fortunate to lose only four meeting days due to weather this build season. The season saw four major storms, including an ice storm which knocked out power for some people on the team (including Kelloms, Weissmans and McKowns) for five days! Fortunately, the TCHS lost power for only a day and a bit, so only one meeting lost.

This page contains a day by day breakdown of what we did. Dates hyper-links go to the corresponding photo gallery.

Kickoff

• We attended kick-off at Upper Darby High School (home of old friends team 357 Royal Assault)
• Clem McKown gave a workshop on Pneumatic Systems
• Returning to TCHS, we went through game rules
• then engaged in several rounds of Recycle Rush using StudentBots on a simulated field and reviewed the results
• We put together our first thoughts on game strategy

Week One (1/4-1/10)

Sunday 4-January

• We identified the following key robot jobs:

1. Facilitate loading of litter into Recycle Containers from Human Player
2. Build stacks of totes in-situ (in the robot) & place these (to score) where desired
3. Place recycle containers on stacks of totes
4. Grab recycle containers from the step (without removing landfill totes)
5. Auton - Stack (3) yellow totes in-situ & place in Auton Zone
6. Coop Stack - Pick up (3) yellow totes (either as stack or stack them) & place on top of opfor yellow tote on step

• From these, we came up with the following robot strategies

1. Stacker Bot (The Chooser)
   1. Human Station Feed specialist
   2. Floor pickup specialist
2. Recycle Container Specialist (The Chosen One)
3. The Swiss Army Bot (Fills both above roles)
4. Feeder Bot (supplies totes to Stacker Bot)

• Stacker Bot Missions:

1. Auton - (3) yellow tote stack
2. Coop - Place (3) yellow totes on top of opfor yellow tote on step
3. Collect & Stack totes in-situ
   1. From Human Player?
   2. From Landfill - Orientation?
   3. From feeder?
4. Place stack where desired to score
5. Stack height capability - 4 minimum - 6 maximum

• Recycle Container Specialist

1. Auton - Able to move robot, recycle container & tote to Auton Zone
2. Eary Telop - Capture Step Recycle Containers
3. Tele - Enable Human Player to easily load litter into recycle container
4. Place recycle container on top of stacked totes (4 minimum - 6 maximum)

• R&D Teams

1. Determine how to stack totes in-situ (Josh, Alex, Patrick, Paul)
2. Container Possession - how to grab step container (Lucy, Laura, Dana, Abbi, Douglas, Yahya)
3. How to lift & stack totes (Brad x 2, Sully, Madi)

Monday 5-January

• Simulated the stacking process - able to stack 5 totes (under a recycle container) in 25 seconds (too slow)

Tuesday 6-January

• Met with new machining sponsor AMS Filling Systems
• Pulled Al stock from team inventory for machined pivot parts
• Worked on Human Player Station
• Measured friction coefficient
  • tote-carpet - all orientations
  • tote-polypropylene - all orientations
  • wheel-polypropylene
• Tested ability of stacker forks to align with and capture totes

Wednesday 7-January

• Delivered Al stock for pivot parts to AMS Filling Systems
• Worked on Human Player Station
• Worked on Step
• Built prototype stacker drive
• Shifted stored supplies out of old FIRST totes into non-standard totes to free up more game pieces
• Inventory COTS for pivot modules
• 1^st-Pass list of Stacker Functions
• Team Meeting - Where are we? - Where are we going?

Friday 9-January

• Worked on Human Player Station
• Assembled a 2^nd control test panel
• Start identifying control logic elements & interactions

Saturday 10-January

• Human Player Station finished & testing started
• Worked on Step
• Build new fork prototype
• Collect stacker data
• Complete lift prototype for control tests
• CAD!!

DEWBOT XI Week One Build Season Photo Gallery

Week Two (1/11-1/17)

Sunday 11-January

• Built scoring platform
• Prepared ASME grant application
• Identified Inspection Video gaps
• CAD chassis & stacker
• Noodle Vision
• Q83 Brouhaha and work-around development

Monday 12-January

• Build Step
• Tested mini-dozer (fits in most overhead compartments, but does not move totes)
• Test intake rollers (needs work)
• Installed a RoboRio on DEWBOT IX
• CAD stacker drive & fork deployment drive

Tuesday 13-January

• CAD
• Human Player load testing
• Intake roller development
• Determined lowest fork elevation needed

Wednesday 14-January

• Tested DEWBOT IX with RoboRio
• Tested "plain valilla" autonomous (robot, yellow tote & recycle container into the auton zone) - successfully
• CAD, CAD, CAD...
• Started cutting metal for the robot
• More Human Player loading testing
• Noodle-Vision testing
• Roller intake testing - successful

Friday 16-January

• Rough-cut 6061 Al for chassis (ex-z dimension pieces)
• Test new procedure for front loading from the human player station - reliability seems to be demonstrated (>40 tests)
• CAD, of course

Saturday 17-January

• Mill rough-cut chassis parts
• Practice (teleop) "plain vanilla" autonomous routine; and if successful (yes)
• code control software "plain vanilla" autonomous routine and demonstrate reliability
• Calibrate distance versus encoder counts with DEWBOT X drive encoders
• Build dual drive lift prototype for control development
• Set up field (accurately)
• Cut 7075 Al rod for pivot transfer axles
• Are we finished with CAD? NO

Milestone: The team's CNC lathe, donated to us in 2011 in non-working condition, is now in good working order and cut its first real part on this day

DEWBOT XI Week Two Build Season Photo Gallery