FIRST Robotics Report 4.2 - The Von Frankenstein Moment

The robot is starting to come together.  Weekday sessions are always a bit less productive than our long Saturday sessions.

Monday's unhappy surprise: the maximum allowable pneumatic pressure is 60 psi not 65.  Again, the kids should learn not to trust my facts!  This means we have less margin of error regards weight and really should bring the robot in at 100, maybe 105.  We think we can.  Oh, then you have to add a 12.5 pound battery and about 9 pounds of protective bumper.  Total weight:  126.5.  Calculated lift ability:  147 pounds.  So this should work.  

We also tested the pneumatic ball "spanker".  It is fun and has sufficient range.

Tuesday started slow.  Assorted fussing about with the wrong rivets, and additional time spent unproductively on considering alternatives to our "pinball flipper" ball acquisition system.  But eventually we got things assembled sufficiently to power up the pneumatics and attempt the first and most critical of our two climbs.  As I said, it should work....

And it does.

It's always exciting when a robot first comes to life and works.  I call it the Von Frankenstein moment.  I must admit I always say, sometimes aloud sometimes under my breath, "It's Alive!"

There is more good news as well.  The first lift is pretty much level, so when as a test we had kids pull towards the second bar - which our next pneumatic system will do - it was as my grandkids say "Easy Peasy, Stinky Cheesy".  Actual engineering meets empiric testing.

Thursday  We turned over the calendar.  Now it is February.  That seems to put more time pressure on.  In fact we will be competing four weeks from when today's update posts.  I worry about several big things.  Big Things are best tackled on Saturdays so we filled in with some Medium Things.

Battery holder secured.

There will be intake grabber arms attached to these little stubs.  Pinball flippers I call them.  Ready to mount and not too far from being under software control.  I mean, in the movies nothing bad every happens with robot arms, right?

It's not all about the robot.  Here's meal time.  A young lady who has stepped up as Team Captain encourages the troops.  One of the adult coaches shovels in spaghetti.

And so it goes.  Hopefully we get another solid Saturday in.  We need a couple of custom parts lasered, some electronics are stuck in the supply chain somewhere, but unless/until we get blizzards and the rest of the team goes down with Covid....we might pull this off.