Thanks to everyone who participated in the Saturday meeting today! We definitely got a lot done on our robot “Freshman 15″.
Objectives Accomplished
- Finished conveyor belt contraption
- Mounted conveyor belt
- Reduced weight by 10 lbs
- Front door removed, some excess support cut off, and two huge trapezoids cut out of the frame.
The robot is currently at 130 lbs, ten pounds overweight. Tomorrow, we will be working as hard as possible to reduce the weight by another ten pounds.
Tomorrow’s Objectives
- Reduce the weight by 10 lbs
- Program the robot
- Begin testing the robot
Reducing the weight will take quite some effort. Tomorrow, we will split up into three groups to reduce weight. Group 1 will remove the back panel with the electronics and remount the electronics on to a lighter piece of wood. Group 2 will take the frame of the robot and cut holes in it to reduce additional weight. Group 3 will unmount the conveyor belt contraption and reduce the weight there.
Robotics Mission
I’d also like a chance to talk about Robotics’ mission. What you get out of Robotics is directly proportional to what you put in to it. Like we learned from Dean Kaman’s speech during the opening session, Robotics is not about winning, it’s about learning. Thus, I encourage everyone to try to participate and learn about the robot by working on it. Whether you drill a hole, cut a piece of wood, or help another student work on the robot, take initiative and do something.
Today, we had an incident where a student was discouraged by a mentor from working on the robot. Leadership has talked to the mentors involved and will attempt to make sure that similar situations do not happen again. Tomorrow, we will try to ensure that everyone is involved with the build process. However, we do need your active participation to accomplish this goal. We encourage you to take risks. If you never used the jigsaw, try using it for the first time. If you make a mistake, don’t worry about it – it’s part of the learning process.
The leadership and mentors are here to teach you skills useful not only for building a robot, but useful skills about the design process, engineering, power tools, and working as a team. We want to build an encouraging environment, not a discouraging environment. This weekend is your last opportunity to work on our competition robot. As such, I encourage you to come to our two weekend meetings to learn, build, and most importantly, have fun!
Why is it called Freshman 15? There’s like 24-25 freshies o.O
yea but like 8 show up at the weekend meetings… so they’re being generous!
haha! those “trapezoids” of wood look like Hugo’s nose! =D
Freshman 15 is a term used to describe how college students tend to gain weight (10-20 pounds) in their first year of college (freshman year) due to lack of physical exercise, ample meal plans, and partying all the time. Although in your case, it probably means “lots of freshmen.”
Did you double-check to make sure you were weighing the robot without the battery? We went to inspection one time with the battery in and were about half a pound overweight and then realized the battery was in. Without bumpers? Without other things? Did you use any steel? Replace it with aluminum.
Omg you cut big holes in it does that mean there are no more Blue Flames of Purification? )= )= )=
Hi guys,
Sorry I couldn’t be there yesterday. I think I have the flu >_<. I will try to come today for a bit, but I don’t want to get everyone sick.
For weight loss, I suggest replacing some of the wood things with aluminum bars, which are probably lighter and stronger.
Do you know if we packed the paint and stencils on Friday? I didn’t see it at the workshop yesterday.
Vivvey (Vivek) and I went and got light blue paint and some paint brushes yesterday, so if you don’t have it, don’t buy any more.
We’re thinking of using cloth to replace the front, parts of the sides and maybe the ball holder.
I call it “Freshman 15″ because we were around 15 pounds overweight.