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In preparation for the 2022 competition, I was both the Design Lead (where I led the robot design generation and taught junior members design and CAD) and the Co-Mechanical Lead (specifically, I taught members assembly skills) in the team.
For this off season we wanted to properly train the CAD team so they would be effective during competition season. It helped that a talented CAD designer joined and captained the team that year, but the bulk of the training of new members fell on me.
6-Axis Arm Project
6-Axis Arm Project
The 6-Axis Arm Design
Before teaching, it is important to upgrade your skills. The CAD captain decided that the leadership team's CAD members would collaborate to make a really complicated design. We attempted to make a 6 axis arm: 1 turntable, 2 arm joints, 1 linear slide for the whole second arm, and 2 wrist joints for a claw.
Photos of My Section of the 6-Axis Arm
I was in charge of designing the 2 arms, the joint between the arms, and the linear slide that could translate the the whole second arm. This was the first time that I paid attention to aesthetics. Interesting features of this design are a belt tensioner that governs the linear slide's movement, and the double layered plates to secure bearings.
Ultimately the CAD was never fully finished nor did mechanical ever attempt to build this robot, but the experience was invaluable in developing my CAD skills. While I did not CAD the rest of this robot, I took the lead in teaching 9 members (with no prior CAD skills) how to replicate the entire 6-axis arm.
The file displayed is an example of what one of my mentees did during this process.
I would show step by step how to CAD each part while the various members followed along over virtual meetings. We would call with members an average of 4 hours a night for ~1 month straight during that summer break to get this far.
Steamworks Project (Game Replay)
Steamworks Project (Game Replay)
The next stage of training involved a bit more self-directed learning. We decided to replay one of the previous FRC games, FIRST Steamworks. Teams transported large gears around the field, shot balls into a hopper, and had to climb up a rope. For more details watch the game video.
I was in charge of leading the junior CAD members through the full design process. We came up with the planning drawings, divided the work amongst members, CADed the individual subassemblies (the members had a lot of oversight and guidance from me for this), and then tried to combine all of our work together.
The Steamworks Project Robot CAD
In the end we produced a nearly fully flushed-out CAD. Elements were missing such as the storage's walls, and about half of the flywheel, but it does look like a robot CAD.
The completed design was an 8 wheel west coast drive base (the middle 4 wheels are shifted lower for turning reasons) that worked off of a dog shifting gearbox, allowing for the robot to move at high speeds or with a lot of torque to push opponents. The intake could bring balls up its tower and drop them into the large storage section. Balls would be fed into the flywheel by belts at the bottom of the bed to shoot out and score.
My team tried some new designs elements such as making a two speed drive base with dog shifters. I learned a lot alongside the team, and gained experience in leading and managing the design and CAD process. From here we took a break to prepare ourselves mentally for the real competition season.
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