 |
Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We started the third week by trying to finish our chassis. Putting on the chains and sprockets was our first step to accomplishing our goal. Next, we made the transmission brackets and mounted it on the chassis. We made our prototype grabber manipulator and assisted the other Hawaii teams by giving them our spare parts. Also, we finished the sprocket that we started on for team 2024.
The last thing we did this week was welding parts for the lift and made brackets so the arm can bend up and down.
And our week ended like this: Wendy baked cookies, Ryan went to the hospital, Wilson got hungry, John got angry, Li Xi mobbed Wilson, and Helen went to Maui.
This fabulous week was full of encoders. We spent the first few days learning, analyzing, and practicing writing encoder programs. Our journey begun with convoluted “if” statements and, after two days of painful and heartbreaking toil, it ended with a two line code utilizing state changes.
Then, we embarked on a mission to write an awesome and usable encoder program. Using a prewritten program and its accompanying manual, we revised our 2005 FRC code for our prototype board. We encountered problematic syntax errors when we cross-referenced the encoder.c/.h files from another file which we accidentally deleted. We were finally able to build our project by changing the defunct path and linking our project to existing files.
Two members of our team diverged from the electronics group to modify the drive program for the 2007 robot. They are planning to add exponential steering wheel sensitivity.
We went about doing our usual business this week. We continued to use our cameras to document this week's events for the Week 3 website and for future teams.
This week, we had visitors from 4 different robotics teams coming to McKinley (Sacred Hearts, Maryknoll, Waiakea and Baldwin High School from Maui).
We again attempted to compress our videos with no luck, so we're hoping to get a new hard-drive for our server. So, unfortunately, our videos aren't out yet. And the new members continue to discover the intricacies of Macromedia Dreamweaver.
We learned how to loft parts and practiced by making at least five shapes together. On Monday, each Autodesk student was assigned to make separate parts, such as the bearing block, the hex shaft, and the hub. We also learned how to change the tolerances, which constraints the dimensions from rounding off. A design for the trinket, using a two by two (2x2) cube was also assigned.
The next day, two students from Maui whom were new to FIRST came by with questions and curiosity. We introduced them to the program, Inventor, and we also helped them design wheels and smileys, in addition taught them how to use the option: constraints. On Wednesday, we completed part two of our test which included shelling. On Thursday, we finished the last part of our test and then assembled the three parts together making a “launcher.”
Friday, we made a draft of the chain block which may be used for the 2008 robot. Lastly, on Saturday, we downloaded the “Aluminum Structural Framing” which included the frame, gussets, and the corner joining plates.