Shooter: Last week, members of the shooter group discovered that the shooter was not working the way they intended; each piece of cargo flew with a higher trajectory than planned, and shots made from farther away were inaccurate. To combat these issues, students added another flywheel opposite the first one. With this addition, the rotational velocity would be negligible and the ball would not spin as it traveled to the Hub. In the days leading up to Week 0, the members focused on mounting the new flywheel and began to fix the singulator, which connected the intake and shooter subsystems. At the Week 0 competition, students quickly realized that the limelight was not synchronized with the robot, allowing them to only make shots from the Fender (area by the lower exit of the hub). Before matches started, another issue arose - the cargo was touching the flywheel while being held by the robot. To compensate for this, the indexer wheel had to be run slightly backwards. Due to several other complications, the team was not able to make it very far in the competition, but the goal of Week 0 is to learn, and members have been making adjustments to the shooter subsystem all throughout this week.
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Last Saturday marked the official end of the 2022 Build Season! Team 4909 is excited to show off our new robot to our sponsors, parents, and the rest of our supportive community. Every year, following our 6-week build season, the team hosts a Robot Reveal Night; a momentous event to celebrate our robot’s completion. During this event, guests are encouraged to meet the team, our mentors, and watch our robot in action. This is an exciting occasion for everyone, and it is a time for everyone to reflect on how much time, effort, and support it took to accomplish this goal. We also use Robot Reveal Night to express our gratitude to everyone who provided us with the resources needed to make this possible. We could not have developed our robot without all of your contributions, from financial assistance to helping fabricate robot parts and supplying meals on days when our students and mentors worked long hours. Team 4909 is truly appreciative of all the consistent support you have given us throughout the 2022 build season. For more information about Robot Reveal Night, please see the invitation below.
Intake: This week, the Intake group finished assembling the intake mechanism. Members integrated the subsystem to the robot to analyze problems it may be having with movement. Students began to brainstorm solutions to these issues and started executing them by making new parts such as spacers. As these parts were connected to the robot mainframe, members started to figure out the wiring and electric components of the robot. Over the course of next week, the group plans to continue testing and fixing bugs to enhance the intake’s efficiency and reliability.
Shooter: After several weeks of designing, the shooter group finally began manufacturing parts this week! Last Saturday, after finishing designs for the lightning cut-outs for the two shooter plates, students started to cut and create the parts using the Velox Router. Unfortunately, just a few seconds into the process, the spindle broke, leaving members with two aluminum sheets, and nothing to cut them with. However, with just a few phone calls, the team was able to get in touch with another FRC team, Team 125, who was able to help the group out. Thanks Team 125! On Monday, members received the plates and mounted them on the main robot frame. Students continued manufacturing and mounting parts all week, several new parts everyday; limelight, indexer wheel, flywheel, hood plate, pneumatic cylinders, support shafts, falcons, versa planetaries, and several sheets of lexan. With preliminary manufacturing now completed, the group is waiting for the software team to test the subsystem and eliminate any flaws that may be present before Week 0.
Software: At the start of the week, the software team began wiring the robot. Most of the power wiring is completed, but there is some CAN wiring remaining that needs to be done. On Tuesday, members tested Falcon 500 motors on the drive train. Thursday was spent redoing the power wires and setting up various sensors for the robot. Students set up a color sensor that can detect the RGB values of an object, and implemented some code that allows the robot to determine the color of collected cargo. Members also worked with infrared sensors, which would allow them to know the location of cargo in the robot. On Friday, the group successfully set up multiple infrared sensors and worked on the drivetrain for the final robot.
 Name: Alexander Ivanov
Title: Mechanical Team Member Years on the Team: 4 years Areas of Focus and Responsibilities: “For the past two years I have spent my time working on shooter systems. Last year, I was the build lead of the shooter system. Unfortunately, there weren't any formal competitions during the 2021 season so my design was never used for the game.” Impact: “My interest in robotics has been around longer than I have known about FIRST, and at some point, it refined into the desire of wanting to work with prosthetics. I joined Team 4909 soon after and, out of curiosity, found out what 'Bionics' is. As fate would have it, Bionics was the exact field of study that I wanted to work in. Besides discovering the name of what I wanted to do, FIRST has granted me the opportunity to learn and practice vital skills in CAD design and manufacturing using manual and automated devices.” Favorite 4909 memory: “We were in a competition, and in the pit, the elevator mechanism failed, causing the springs to release. What ensued was a 1x1 beam of aluminum launching into the ceiling with a lot of people to bear witness in the resulting hole in the ceiling. Terrifying at the time, but absolutely hilarious upon reflection to this day.” Plans after High School: “Go to college, travel the world, enjoy life.” Ideal Job: “Prosthetist”
 Intake: To start off the week, the intake group completed their CAD design by finishing up any remaining tasks from the prior week. On Thursday, members began manufacturing parts, starting with standoffs and the bars for the four-bar linkage system for collecting cargo. Students are going to continue manufacturing parts and assembling them as they wrap up the week.
 Name: Siobhan Tolleson
Title: Mechanical Team Member Years on the Team: 1 year Areas of Focus and Responsibilities: “I do machining. It's the most interesting part of robotics that I could quickly pick up and enjoy doing.” Impact FIRST has had: “Even though robotics takes up a lot of time in addition to my other after-school activities, it has provided me with a place to put my skills to good use.” Favorite 4909 memory: “I really liked making a part completely by myself this year. Even though I asked a lot of questions while making it, I'm proud to say I did it entirely on my own.” Plans After High School: “I plan to attend college to pursue some combination of mathematics and computer science.” Ideal Job: “Something related to computer science and math. Possibly a programmer or mathematician.” |
