Difference between revisions of "DEWBOT VIII"

Revision as of 19:28, 31 March 2012

Team "ship night" photo

DEWBOT VIII is Team 1640's answer to the challenge of FIRST's 2012 game, Rebound Rumble.

No doubt about it, DEWBOT VII will be a very tough act to follow. Still, we've set our sights high and built the most complex robot ever for Team 1640. Let's hope this is reflected in performance.

The 2012 build season was the team's first without Downingtown Area School District's (DASD) support. A bit lonely out here. The team is hopeful for a renewed school affiliation.

Like last year, we are building two robots (Prime and Deux again) and have a full-sized practice field. Deux lagged a bit.

DEWBOT VIII Prime at Lenape

Accomplishments:

WINNER at the Hatboro Horsham MAR District Regional Event

DEWBOT VIII Build

Thanks to the gracious generosity of Waterloo Gardens, the Team had a wonderful space in which to build and test DEWBOT VIII.

What can I say about build season? Too short; too long; too intense; too cold; too little sleep; too much work; and a great deal of fun and a keen sense of accomplishment. This is the very heart of the robotics year. The time we both live for and approach with a little dread.

Build season opens with Kickoff, where we learn the details of the new game, and runs for 45 days, at which time the robot is sealed for competition.

Click on the DEWBOT VIII Build link to learn more about the team's build season and to access the Build Season photo galleries.

Design Details

Strategic Objectives

Drive Train

The

Hybrid Drive-train

key drive-train requirements for Rebound Rumble were:

Ability to cross the mid-field line via either the Bridge or going over the Barrier (Need)
The ability to drive in the wide orientation in order to fit three robots on a Bridge (Need)
The ability to drive in the wide orientation to facilitate ball pick-up from the playing field (Need)
Avoid blocking robots, especially between Key & Bridge (Desired)
Ability to lock wheels on the Bridge to avoid rolling off when power is cut (Desired)

While not a specific strategic requirement, it was perceived that the ability to drive in the narrow orientation would make crossing over the Barrier safer & easier.

Furthermore, if pivot drive was used, it was decided that the shooter would be aimed my rotating the robot, rather than via a rotating turret (not applicable if tank drive was selected). The logic was that pivot driva enabled the entire robot to become a turret, so we should exploit this and avoid a redundant turret.

While not a strategic objective, it is understood that 1640's pivot drive provides extraordinary defensive performance is necessary.

To meet these needs, it was decided to design DEWBOT VIII with a Hybrid drive-train comprising (4) Pivot Modules for general mobility and (2) driven 8" Pneumatic Wheels specifically for crossing over the barrier. While driving on a flat surface, the Pneumatic Wheels are 5/8" off the field surface.

Through value engineering, the Team made significant improvements to the Pivot drive design, reducing mass, cost and eliminating separate left and right modules.

Specific drive modes were developed for Rebound Rumble. These are:

Fat Snake - Primary drive mode - snake drive with a wide chassis orientation.
Skinny Snake - Used primarily for crossing the Barrier - Pneumatic wheels are automatically driven in the direction of travel.
Aiming mode - Orients wheels on a circle and rotates chassis about center. For shooting and chassis reorientation. Unlike previous DEWBOTS, this mode remains on until specifically turned off.
Crab mode - Primarily for evasion

Ball Collection & Lift

Shooter

Bridge Manipulation

Control

Field

Design Process

Events

Move into 427 Creamery Way

On 13-August-2011, Downingtown Area Robotics moved into the warehouse at 427 Creamery Way, Exton. Waterloo Gardens is generously and graciously allowing the team to use this facility. Another great space for robotics, allowing a full-scale practice field. We are very grateful to Waterloo Gardens for the use of this building. Again, no sense of permanence. Our 7^th home to-date.

All training is shifted immediatly to the new site. This is a fine place to build a robot!

Siri Maley leading design class
Clem McKown - Drive Train basics
Douglas & Gary Deaver
Ben Kellom leads SolidWorks Training
Ian & Mike B driving
Lucy & Ben Kellom working on SolidWorks

Fall Project - Robot design

Team discussing ideas around field mock-up table during Practice Kickoff

Team 1640's Fall Project is the complete design of a robot for an old FRC game (outside the team's memory). We selected the 2003 game, Stack Attack for this exercise.

The Project started with a well-attended Practice Kickoff on 17-September.

Fall Project - Pivot Drive Value Engineering

The design of the 2011 Pivot Drive System will be reviewed with the intent of:

Reducing mass
Reducing cost
Reducing mill time
Improving reliability
Improving performance

Pancake Breakfast

Our AppleBee's Pancake Breakfast on 16-October-2011 raised nearly $1,500 for the team.

Boeing Ridley Park Plant Tour - 5-November-2011

The team toured Boeing's Ridley Park helicopter plant, together with teams 341, 365 & 486. The V-22 Osprey and CH-47 Chinook assembly lines were visited, as well as Boeing's Wind Tunnel and Flight Simulation facilities.

STEM Academy & DEHS Robot Demonstrations - 18-Nov-2011

Team Sab-BOT-age and recently retired DEWBOT VII demonstrated the benefits of FRC to Downingtown STEM Academy and East Students in back-to-back demos.

Win at Hatboro-Horsham - 2 & 3-March-2012

Alliance victory photograph

Together with Alliance partners Teams 341 (Miss Daisy, Alliance Captain) and 1218 (Vulcan Robotics), Team 1640 won the Mid-Atlantic Robotics (MAR) qualifier at Hatboro-Horsham Senior High School. Great work by the whole team and a great start to the 2012 competition season!

Lenape District Event - 24 & 25 March-2012

Team 1640 played well at the Lenape competition, placing 11^th in qualifications out of 38 teams. We were selected by the 5^th alliance, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Teams

People

Team Sab-BOT-age is what it is only due to the efforts of the people involved. DEWBOT VIII's success will be in the hands of the students, mentors and parents engaged. The team's very existence is possible only through the gracious generosity of our sponsors.

DEWBOT VIII Students: DEWBOT VIII Mentors; Sponsors 2012

Chairman's Award

The highest non-robot award is the Chairman's Award. You can read this years submission created by Kenneth at DEWBOT VIII Chairmans Award.

See our other robots at FRC Team 1640

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 ;:[[Sponsors 2012]]
 == Chairman's Award ==
-The highest non-robot award is the Chairman's Award.  You can read this years submission created by Kenneth at [DEWBOT VIII Chairmans Award].
+The highest non-robot award is the Chairman's Award.  You can read this years submission created by Kenneth at [[DEWBOT VIII Chairmans Award]].
 ----
 See our other robots at [[FRC Team 1640]]
 [[Category:Robot]][[Category:DEWBOT VIII]]