Day 15: Till 8:30

Today’s meeting started with Corey reminding everyone that we will now be focused on meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-8:30pm. Again we need to stay focused on shooting, picking up, and driving. Media team helped design a banner for the pit. Animation team created a factory and a pyramid for their mythology challenge, in Autodesk MAYA. Business team continued to call businesses for raffle donations, and they prepared tickets for the raffle. Mechanical team figured out the spacing for the gears of the robot in order to line up the chains correctly. Controls team tested the prototype to reduce the problems they have had with the wires smoking. Programming team made sure the old robot works so that they could re-wire it in order to know what to do for the new one. CAD team researched the ball shooter and looked at other team’s ball shooters on Chief Delphi. Safety team made cabinets for the pit and made final adjustments on the robot. Next on the schedule: make serious progress on Saturday.

Day 14: 3 Weeks Left!!!

The meeting started with Mr. Greene telling everyone that this is time to maximize our work time while other mentors start coming during the week. Therefore, we will be shifting our schedule to Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-8:30 pm. When the last week of the season comes to build, the team will be needed every day till around 10-11 pm. Also it has been determined that our team photo will take place on February 4^th at 4:05 pm in the auditorium; hopefully we’ll be able to wear our team shirts. Then Corey took over to tell us, that because of the winter weather cancelling school, we have missed much needed opportunities to progress on the robot. We need to focus on is Driving, Pickup, and Shooting/Passing. In order for these things to be accomplished we need to strip down the chassis, do drive testing, and figure out how we’re going to shoot. For shooting it has been determined that we can get more power by changing the angle and pulling the shooter back farther, hence we will be exploring three different shooting systems we will potentially choose from to see which one will effectively help us. At this point in time, it is also advised that if you think you can help in any way, speak up. We only have three weeks left and as Corey said “you’ll want to be able to say you did something” when everyone is at the regionals and the robot is presented. In their subgroup Media team finalized what design would be used for all the spirit wear items. Animation finished a scene for their challenge. Business team called local businesses for raffle donations and finalized Media/Animation’s designs for the spirit wear. Mechanical team worked on the chains for the track chain and worked on the chassis to get the spacing right for the gears. Controls team tried to get the old robot to work, organized the new material they got, and cleaned the middle room. Programming fully programmed last year’s robot and got it to function. CAD team worked on one of the shooters, and learned how the vex-2 CIM ball worked. Safety team put together their cabinets for the robot cart. From here on out everyone is needed to fully perform to advance the robot in these last three weeks.

Blog 13: Push Your Mind to Work

Our fourth Saturday meeting started with Corey letting us know we are halfway through our build season, and we’re now entering the hardest part of the season. From here on out we need to stay focused on execution and how we, as a team, behave and perform. Mr. Greene also met with members interested in being leaders next year. He also told us our main focus today is to see if the intake roller works, and to prototype for shooter ideas. In their sub group, Media team finished their t-shirt design for the spirit wear. Animation started and finished building another scene for their mythology challenge. Business team wasn't present today, because there wasn’t much for them to do. Mechanical team ran through different methods of the kicking mechanism and proceeded to test them. They also continued building the second chassis. Controls team spent their time looking for breakers to buy on the internet. They also wired the digital side car, and drew circuit board diagrams. Programming team tested the mapping of our controller so we could move the robot around easily on the floor at competitions. CAD team brainstormed for the defensive side of the Aerial Assist challenge. Safety team made a stop at home depot to buy wood for the pit and cart, then continued building. Next week we’ll continue making strides on building and testing for the robot.

Day 12: Be Patient

The meeting started with Corey telling us we’d spend our time focusing on device testing to make sure we aren’t doing anything wrong. Media team worked to make logos for the spirit wear they decided on with Business team. Animation worked more on their challenge by researching mythologies and designing the scenes. Business team finalized what spirit wear they would end up making this season. They also called more companies for gifts for the raffle. Mechanical team worked on how to pull back the firing catapult which turned out successful. Controls team worked together with Programming team to troubleshoot the robot from last year. They focused mainly on the shooting device. CAD team worked on aligning the sprockets for the intake roller in Autodesk Inventor. They also created the shooting prototype. Safety team researched the cost of pieces for the robot, and created its bumpers. Everyone’s gearing up to conclude the week with a productive Saturday meeting.

Day 11: First Optional Meeting

Today was an optional attendance day. Again we were advised to ask our team leaders if they would need us. If not, you were allowed to leave. Once in sub groups Media team got together with Business team to put all of our team member’s names onto their Certificate of Appreciation. Animation built part of the first scene of their animation. Business and Media teams drew up a list of possible ideas for spirit wear that we could make and sell to families. Mechanical team developed more on the shooter, and made the intake roller swivel better so they could hopefully solve the chain issue. Controls team researched on the internet and cleaned up the controls board. Programming tested programs made for last year’s robot. Other members taught their fellow teammates how to program. CAD team stayed on the computers to do research on Chief Delphi, and to design the robot in Autodesk Inventor. Safety team worked on designing the cart for the robot. Tomorrow we plan on having a more productive outcome with all members attending.

Day 10: Testing the Shooter

The meeting started with Mr. Greene announcing that February 4^th at the O’Plaine campus at 3:45pm we will be taking our team picture. He also said that going forth in the season, Tuesday’s, Thursday’s, and Saturday’s are required for attendance. Everyone was also advised to talk to their team leaders about when they would be needed to attend the meetings. Corey said today we would start finalizing and testing designs. Media team took video of the Mechanical team launching the ball from the shooter. Animation looked up Mayan and Egyptian buildings on the computer for ideas. Business team wasn’t needed today, but team leader Becca Kouba came to prepare for tomorrow. Mechanical team worked on the prototype for the shooter and helped the Controls team. They also proceeded in building the second chassis, as well as getting the intake roller working with the robot. Members also carried around the test shooter to see how easy/hard it would be for the regional competitions. Controls team built their second pneumatic circuit for the launcher. Programming spent their time getting the program from last year’s robot. CAD team researched on Chief Delphi for the robot. Safety team went on the computers to CAD the pit in Autodesk Inventor. The leaders of each team also logged onto Skype to talk to Team 5133 from Aguascalientes, Mexico. We shared with them ways to get more money for their team by getting sponsors, and we gave them advice on how to design their robot. They were shocked to hear that it was 5°F here. Overall, research and development was today’s main focus.

Day 9: 1/3 Through Build Season

The meeting started off with Corey telling us we were 1/3 of the way through our build season. Today our main focus was to prototype and build, so we could then try to shoot and drive. We needed today to figure out how we wanted to drive, so the CAD team had to finish their final design. The entire team was told to make sure they had safety glasses on behind the red lines where Mechanical and Controls team often works, just in case. There was plenty to get done today, so, asking questions if you had any was a must. We were also told there would be an optional (but highly recommended) meeting on Monday from 9-3:30pm, but if you attend you need to bring your own lunch, as it will not be provided. Media & Animation team sat mostly at their computers today. Media team helped design the Certificate of Appreciation that would be handed out at the end of the season. They also went around taking numerous pictures of all the teams. Animation team worked in Autodesk Maya to continue their character design. Business team measured tables in the cafeteria to make sure we can fit everybody needed in there for the end of the year banquet, and they also managed the making of the Certificate of Appreciation. They also made raffle tickets in Photoshop to sell for money for the banquet, as well as called companies to donate gift cards for the raffle. Mechanical team finished prototyping for the ball pickup system, and shooter. They also spent time getting the wheels set up for the second chassis, and mounted the intake roller. Controls team tried to reorganize the board and make it more compact for the pneumatic system. They also put new tanks in the pneumatic system, and got the pistons to work. Programming team spent their time waiting for the mechanical team to finish so in the mean time they made up little projects they could do on the computers. CAD team built the ball picker upper on the computer, as well as other pieces of the robot. Safety team finished building the high goal, and started building the truss. Most teams today were busy throughout the six and a half hour period. Progress is key as we get farther into the build season.