Summary
The First Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international competition where schools build 125 pound robots to compete in 3 on 3 challenges.
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2019: This was our first official year participating, and our first year as a club. We did abysmally at the competition, but it was honestly a miracle we made it at all with our budget and small team.
2020: We utilized CAD and 3D printing to make up for our lack of tools and materials. Unfortunately, the competition was cancelled due to Covid-19.
2021: This year was completely online, so we pivoted to education. I taught myself Blender to give presentations for the adjusted, online FRC competition and held weekly presentations on CAD.
2022: The robotics club had grown substantially and I was able to delegate a significant amount of the design. We finally made it to competition and placed as high as 5th place out of 64 teams.
My Role
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Freshman year I was one of the four freshmen who established the robotics club. All four years, I was the chief designer although my role changed slightly over the years. I went from just a designer to a project manager and teacher too.
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Through robotics, I discovered my passion for design and pursued personal projects too. Robotics was a unique opportunity to interact with other engineering-minded students and work on a large project together.
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FRC was my first exposure to engineering design and CAD. Over the years, I learned about how to design as a team, including how to communicate with other sub-teams (explaining designs, compromising, discussing constraints, etc.), delegate responsibilities, integrate separate designs, and educate new members.
2020
The Competition
The 2020 FRC competition's main objective was to shoot 13" rubber balls into tall stations at the sides of the court or the shorter station in the center of the court and paste rings onto the structures too. The game pieces could be collected from the floor or received from a human player outside the court.
Full Field
Scoring Stations
Game Pieces
2020 Robot
Full Robot Angle 1
Full Robot Angle 2
Features
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6-wheel chassis
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Combination of 3D printed PLA & ABS, aluminum bars, and wood.
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~ 10 pounds of 3D printed joints, motor mounts, and adapters
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~ 3 m of aluminum tubing (2x1", 1x1", and 3/4x3/4")
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~ .25 m^2 of 1/8" plywood for electronics mounting​​
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One-sided ball intake
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Balls move in channel by a set of treads controlled by a motor on top of the channel
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5 ball capacity (the maximum per competition rules)
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Adjustable angle ball tunnel
Ball Launching System Close-Up
The two wheels spin in opposite directions and compress the ball slightly before launching. The ball is fed into the wheels by a track conveyor system which runs at the top of the channel.
Ball Intake System Close-Up
There are two flexible claws which rest on the floor and allow balls to be taken up regardless of the angle of the channel. The two wheels spin inwards and force the balls into the channel to come into contact with the treads.
2022
The Competition
The 2022 FRC competition's main objective was to shoot 9 1/2" foam balls into a two-tiered hub in the center of the court. The balls could be collected from the floor or received from a human player outside the court.
Full Field
Game Piece
Scoring Station
2022 Robot
Full Robot
Features
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6-wheel chassis
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Combination of 3D printed PLA, ABS, and TPU, aluminum bars, PVC piping, and plexiglass.
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~ 10 pounds of 3D printed joints, motor mounts, and adapters
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~ 3 m of aluminum tubing (2x1", 1x1", and 3/4x3/4")
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~ .25 m^2 of 1/8" plywood for electronics mounting​​
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Two-sided ball intake
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32x48" plexiglass shields on either side to protect internal components, defend opposing shots, and interfere with other robots' targeting sensors
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4 ball capacity (the max per competition rules was 3)
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Cable-lined elevator
Elevator and Ball Launching System Close-Up
The elevator consists of two sides of three cables running in parallel. These cables are motor operated and will guide the ball to the launching system. At the top, the ball will catch onto the rotating wheel and roll off the TPU ramp to create a tall arc.
Ball Intake System Close-Up
The ball intake rotates loosely on a bolt on the interior of the robot. At the beginning of the match, the arm falls out of the robot. When engaged, the bottom intake roller (blue) is slightly shorter will scrape the top of the ball it's collecting and then the ball will be sucked up to the second roller and over into the robot.
Ball Channeling System Close-Up
Once the ball is thrown over the border of the robot, it will fall onto this angled plexiglass panel and roll into the center of the robot beneath the elevator. The ball is then raised into the elevator by the white nautilus-shaped servo attachments.