Week 4 Update

The largest shift in team dynamics always occurs when prototyping ends, and manufacturing begins. Instead of testing an idea, students build a final model and tweak its fully fleshed out design. Instead of making runs to General Builder's Supply for screws and rivets, students unpack metal deliveries. And instead of discussing concepts and goals, students are hard at work cutting, drilling, and smoothing out parts for the robot. Madera's robots are constructed mostly of parts created within the school shop, so team members must be precise. Most pieces can only be off by five thousandths of an inch, and some must be even closer.

With the first set of parts finished, primarily for the swerve system, the team began to clean up and send out pieces to be anodized. Anodizing is a finishing process in which electric current is passed through a conductive water-based current which the part is submerged in. Oxygen forms on the part, which creates a thin layer of aluminum oxide which covers the surface. This new layer can be easily dyed, and prevents corrosion of the part. It also has the added benefit of creating a fashionable sleek black or blue finish.

Larger parts were also produced this week. Some students spent the week cutting and shaving down 2 inch by 1 inch aluminum tubing to the perfect length for the robots frame. These parts will be powder coated, where a dry powder is charged electrically to form a thicker layer of paint on a part. Some larger parts Are made by team sponsors, including the belly pan which was generously cut out for 1323 by Treat Enterprises, among other parts.

Despite the team's move from prototyping to manufacturing, several changes still had to be made to the robot. The intake for the tote box, which initially picked up only boxes, now had to be modified to pick up recycling containers as well. Even though not much had to be added to make it work, this addition took the team quite some time to figure out how to keep added parts from inhibiting other functions of the bot.