Week 2
Jan 11 2025:
We continued to refine our robot concept and different field elements. This gave us more confidence in our concept to move toward our CAD model and breakdown the structure into 5 main assemblies.
1. Base
2. Intake
3. Pivot
4. Articulation / Extension
5. Climb
Controls team loaded a model of the kitbot to a driving simulator to let them practice driving around the competition field. While some factors weren't accurate they gained some perspective of the drivers view from the driver station of various scoring elements.
The field build team made great headway on the Reef, and is nearly complete. After we make brackets and fixtures we'll be able to add the reef branches. We'll be looking to add paint soon.
Prototyping
Jan 13 2025:
Our telescoping arm prototype has been improved. Now the same driven belt can both extend and retract the end effector. The key to this was understanding the internal rigging. The belt and string anchor points introduce a cascading effect from the one driven source.
We were inspired by FRC Team 4522 intake prototype they shared on YouTube. We like the mechanism's compliance that allows it to collect both the coral and the algae without additional actuators because the gas springs allow it to pivot between both an open and a closed configuration.
We've used gas springs on previous robots so we have some on hand to start our prototypes. It's a great component to highlight for students to learn more about.
Jan 14 2025:
A greater emphasis was made during class time to get our field built accurately. We added more resources to improve our field build quality, designating students to managing / reading prints, disassembling and reassembling field elements troubleshooting misaligned pieces.
We worked on a few iterations of the intake prototype. We set up a compliant mechanism we started yesterday. The intake was able to collect the algae and the coral well. The challenge with the algae was the intake didn't have the "touch it, own it" effect we want. We'll need to look into how to improve that factor of the intake, but the ability to handle both game pieces with a single mechanism was proven.
We also used a beater brush to help center the coral. We have promising results despite a limited prototype.
Jan 16 2025:
Our design team worked on extension belt rigging. They used sketches and different color codes to communicate where anchor points and driven belts would be located.
Field Build
Field build worked to improve our field build quality. We contacted other local teams to help us improve our build method. Our friends from FRC Team 1038 provided drawings for a full coral loading station. Our friends from FRC Team 4028 helped us by providing us enough brackets for two full reefs. We'll look forward to practicing with them later this season.
