10/23/15 – Friday – Do or Doughnut, There Is No Try

October 24, 2015 Samuel Witt

The air vibrated with excitement when it was announced that 696 had gotten into the Ventura competition thanks to Mr. Black. We’ll be heading over during the spring break, which is my kind of idea of a proper vacation.

Business team expressing their delight when learning that the team got into the Ventura competition.

In other news, the light-bulb business has recommenced. For those wondering, selling power-efficient light-bulbs to raise money to go on trips, such as the Ventura one, is the main source of donation towards Robotics club. We’re all determined to sell as many as we can to help out our team.

Also, Samuel, of the Blogging (and Photography) team was given the Golden Wrench Award. Blushing a deep crimson, Samuel gracefully accepted the award from Mika.

Over in Business, Anna continued creating and writing the applications for both the Woodie Flowers Award and the Entrepreneurship Award. Meanwhile, Arvin outlined the future business plan and worked on his presentation.

Arvin and Anna looking over the FRC site.

Andrea was maintaining an excel spreadsheet for the light-bulb sales after she passed out the said light-bulbs.

And the hardworking Nicole finished up the brochure.

Nicole adding finishing touches to the brochure.

Jonna and James of CAM fixed many plates (not the kind you eat on). They also worked on their presentation.

Chris R. and Anthony C. of Animation both continued their tutorials of modelling using 3DS Max software.

CAD team had a very busy day. Claire and Anthony K. created intake plates, and Anthony K. continued work on his gearbox.

Anthony K. and Claire working on Autodesk.

Mikia was learning how to work with autodesk and he started his own plate design. And Sipan, the leader of this group, worked on the drivetrain’s gearbox. He also kept updating the assembly for the Fall-robot.

Sipan hard at work. — Sipan concentrating hard on his work.

Dustin and Nanor, from CNC Mill, worked under Mr. Widholm to learn how to operate the Mill. Besides some confusion, the two learned much.

Dustin and Nanor learning how to operate the Mill.

Lousaper and Arpi, from CNC Lathe, worked under Mr. Black to learn how to operate the Lathe. Besides some coolant leaks, the two did perfect.

The full Prototype team, Meetkumar, Lauren, Karin, and Devon, all continued prototyping the flywheel.Working together, they were able to cut out more pieces from wood slates.

Lauren and Karim drilling into wood. — Lauren and Karin drilling into wood.

Working together, they were able to cut out more pieces from wood slates.

The wood that Prototype team was cutting and drilling.

Eden, of Welding, practiced welding a 16 in. box-tube using fillet welds and flat welds. He and Roupen also helped out the Prototype team with their flywheel.

Welding and Prototype team working together.

Over on Programming, John continued his autonomous coding of the QHR program, and Daniel worked on the logger. Jake was able to reprogram the hood-slider on QHR. And Bhavin kept on coding SnapDragon from essentially scratch.

Jacob and Yerine, both on Matlab or Simulation team used Matlab to code in the football’s drag. This is part of their project, the mapping of a football’s trajectory.

Yerine and Jacob hard at work using Matlab software.

And finally, what we’ve all been waiting for. THE LEADERS.

First we have our magnanimous President. The one, the only, Mika! She extended herself to all the teams to help out with their tasks. However, she spent a hefty time assisting the Prototype team in their endeavors.

Our two wonderful leaders putting their minds together to problem-solve issues.

And of course there’s also our altruistic Vice-President, Alexander! He, in his greatness, helped out CAD with all of their work and problems. Alexander also continued his own work on an elevator design on Autodesk.

Mr. Black helped out the CNC Lathe team by teaching them the operations of the Lathe.

A little over halfway through the workday, manna from heaven found its way to us. And by this, I mean we were given doughnuts. We all washed our hands before and after of course, and we exercised proper food protocol in the lab. Boy was it delicious.

Sipan enjoying a delectable doughnut. When asked if it was sweet-bread he was eating, he responded with "Sí, pan." — Sipan enjoying a delectable doughnut. When asked if it was sweet-bread he was eating, he responded with “Sí, pan.”

The lab closed around 8:15. While it was actually clean, the faint aroma of doughy goodness still lingered.

Fall Season Labwork

10/16/15 – Friday – Transitions

October 19, 2015 Samuel Witt

As October transitions to the spooky Halloween side of the month, the work in robotics transitions from easing into our respective jobs to being expected to complete our tasks perfectly with maximum efficiency. Of course, those new to robotics still fail at times, but they aren’t given any special treatment as they’re just as capable as the robotics’ veterans.

During the meeting that consistently takes place prior to the teams splitting apart to work, the Golden Wrench Award went to the CNC Lathe team. Lousaper proudly received her team’s award.

Lousiper presenting the CNC Lathe's Golden Wrench Award with a wide smile. — Lousiper presenting the CNC Lathe’s Golden Wrench Award with a wide smile.

Chris R. was left all by his lonesome on the Animation team, and he continued to learn how to operate 3DS Max.

Chris R. performing exercises on 3DS Max

On Simulation Yerine and Jacob continued their Matlab work. Yerine was taught the details of their project and ODE from Jacob. Their mentor, Jim Stone, had Yerine and Jacob review Matlab as well.

Yerine and Jacob hard at work on Matlab.

Armand and Chris H. of Media spent the day organizing photos and videos. This is not a simple task as there are hundred of files to look through.

Luke and Josiah from Web finished up their interviews. Luke then edited the 696 website, fixing bugs and adding new events with additional information. Josiah and Luke also helped Media sort through pictures and videos.

Josiah and Luke helping Chris H. organize photos and videos. — Josiah helping Chris H. organize photos and videos.

CAD members Claire and Anthony K. created an intake using Inventor. Sipan, another member, continued to work on his drive train and was able to create an assembly for the Fall robot update using Inventor.

Clair and Anthony K. working on Inventor.

Over on CAM, James and Jonna created the tool path on Inventor, sending it over for the CAD team. James also plasma-cut four parts for later use.

Business team received a new member by the name of Arvin. Sound familiar? If so, that’s because he started on Simulation, but after considering how he could better suit the team’s needs as a whole, it was decided to place him into Business, where he spent his first official day canvassing the shirts for the room.

Andrea showing Arvin how to properly canvass the shirts.

Anna organized the robotics drive and went over press relations. Nicole continued her work on the brochure and Andrea performed light bulb accounting.

Nicole creating and editing the brochure.

Programming member Jake continued making the robot controls on the remote as logical as possible, and he tried to get the hood slider on QHR to work. Daniel spent his time getting the router on the robot to function so the robot could connect via remote. Bhavin wrote the code for Snap Dragon to work from a controller and he mapped the functions and parts of Snap Dragon.

Programming team hard at work...programming. — Programming team hard at work…programming.

Roupen and Eden of Welding helped out prototype team while Eden also practiced welding and preparing his final part for his presentation.

Eden and Roupen assisting the Prototype team in their creation of a flywheel.

Lauren, Karin, Meetkumar, and Devon – the Prototype team – continued their hard work on the flywheel. They surpassed the initial design aspect and moved on to cutting parts of wood for the product.

Prototype team outlining where to cut the wood for their flywheel.

Dustin, the only member present on CNC Mill, worked under the guidance of Mr. Black testing different probe procedures on the Mill.

Mr. Black showing Dustin how to properly operate the CNC Mill. — Mr. Black showing Dustin how to properly operate the Mill.

CNC Lathe member Lousaper helped out the prototype team with their flywheel.

Mika, our beloved president worked with business on their spreadsheets; explaining anything they didn’t get and assisting them in the tougher parts. She also did her presidential duty of making sure the lab was properly cleaned and that every member remained safe.

Alexander, our benevolent vice-president worked with both CAM and CAD teams. He assisted them in their separate projects. And, of course, he helped the rest of the teams in any way he could.

Mr. Black helped Dustin of CNC Mill work on the Mill.

The lab closed shortly after 7:30, sparkling clean and still humming from the day full of efficient work.

Fall Season Labwork

10/9/15 – Friday – Minimum Day

October 10, 2015 Samuel Witt

Once more, that time of the week had finally arrived – Friday. It’s on Fridays that we get to go to Robotics club, and this Friday was no exception. However, unlike other Fridays, this day was also a minimum day at school. This means that school ends at 12:50 instead of 3:00.

With the early ending of school, Robotics started at 1:30 and would end around 6:00. As the school didn’t offer lunch during the day, Robotics club had pizza available for any students that wanted it. Many members took this kind offer up, and enjoyed delicious pizza from the time of 12:50 until 1:30. After that, we all helped clean the lab up and set off to work.

Before getting to work, the Friday meeting took place. After the tasks were assigned, the Golden Wrench Award went to rookie-welder, Eden Morris. Blushing with gratitude, Eden graciously accepted the award with tears in his eyes.

With Fall-training in full motion, all teams were busy with their individual training and work.

On Business, Andrea and Nicole were busy setting up the shirts onthe walls, and Andrea was also being taught how to print vinyl signs. Annam teaching Andrea how to print vinyl signs, was herself printing vinyl signs for the lab. And Arvin, a possible new Business member, was working on a sample press releases and researching entrepreneur awards for the team.

Luke and Josiah of Web Design were both finishing up team interviews.

Due to working separately, they were able to conduct interviews faster, quite the smart tactic for a large team like ourselves.

For the Media team, Armand was the only member present. He spent the day sorting files for later use.

James of CAM made G-code for the CNC to be able to pocket a one-by-two box-tube. His team rookie, Jonna, tested the G-code to check for mistakes. The two of them synchronize flawlessly such that they work like parts of a fully functional robot.

Chris R. and Anthony C. worked harder than any other day on 3ds Max. These two members of Animation were creating characters on the software to learn how to work their software the best.

Programming team member John worked on the autonomous coding using QHR while Jake finished configuring the robots to be controlled manually by a remote. While they did this, Daniel created and worked on the logger, which would log the information from the robot. Bhavin developed Snap Dragon’s code, which is essentially all of the robot’s functions. Their mentor Dr. Clouse oversaw these operations while catching up on ChiefDelphi.com, which is the FRC website forum for updates on information regarding Robotics.

Roupen and Eden, members of Welding helped Prototype team with building a flywheel. This will later be used to launch basketballs.

Eden searching for tools to work on flywheel with.

Meetkumar, Lauren, Karin, and Devon – all members of Prototype – spent the day designing and building a flywheel. They received help from the Welding team.

Prototype and Welding team brainstorming flywheel design.

Mika, the supreme President of Robotics explained what mechanisms were and what prototype requirements were expected from the Prototype and Welding teams for their flywheel. She also consulted the 80-20 manual to locate what parts need to be ordered. And, of course, she made her rounds to check in on the sub-teams.

Mika teaching Prototype and Welding teams (and Alexander) on what a flywheel is and its function.

Alexander, our equally supreme Vice-President of Robotics helped out the CAD team with their Fall-training and their drive-train designs. He also assisted Mika with the 80-20 manual and designed a flywheel for later application.

On CAD, Mikia studied Inventor software while Claire and Anthony K. designed a gearbox on Inventor. Sipan spent the time designing a drive-train on inventor.

Claire and Anthony K. working on gearbox.

CNC Lathe and Mill students Dustin, Nanor, Lousaper, and Arpi learned the basics of operating the CNC Lathe under the mentorship of Mr. Black. They even got to make their own custom part using the Lathe.

Custom part created by CNC Lathe and Mill teams working with Mr. Black.

Dustin says “it’s pretty neat.” One important lesson all of them will definitely take away from this experience will be to always check the coolant nozzle so it doesn’t spray the operators.

Mr. Black teaching CNC Mill and Lathe teams on operating the Lathe.

Simulation member Jacob wrote a program to animate the trajectory of a football using MatLab. With help from his mentor Jim Stone, he also developed the standardized procedures for file management. He also established the goals of Simulation team.

Mr. Black spent the hours helping CNC Mill and Lathe teams. Once they moved on to other work, he went to his computer to conduct Robotics work and answering emails.

Last but not least, Samuel – member of Photography and of Blogging – spent the day taking and sorting pictures and getting material for this very blog you’re reading.

Samuel Witt, lead photographer and blogger looking dashing.

The lab was closed around 7:00, another successful day that should make all members of Robotics proud.

Fall Season Labwork

10/2/15 – Friday – Pizza Surprise

October 5, 2015 Samuel Witt

Another day, another dollar. Of course, just working alongside our fellow team members at Team 696 is more than enough payment. And thus, another successful Friday passed us by, full of achievement and bonding.

Daniel, Bhavin, John, and Jake Z. of the Programming team worked hard at rewriting code for autonomous control of the robot. They also fully reconfigured QHR to work on an Xbox controller. As always, their mentors kept an eye on what they were up to, making sure everything was done properly.

Over on the Welding team, newcomer Eden practiced fillet and flat welding under the tutorship of Roupen. They also welded a one-by-one 1/8th boxtube to another one-by-one 1/8th boxtube.

Business member Anna designed and printed signs for the lab, and later placed them in their appropriate places. Meanwhile, Nicole researched FRC awards and helped Andrea continue setting up the t-shirts on canvasses for later redecoration of the business room. They also continued the redesigning of Team 696’s brochure and got quotes from students to display in said brochure.

IMG_20151002_172603 — Anna creating lab sign with the utmost care.

Media team, Chris H. and Armand, finished their Thank You videos. They then proceeded to prepare their work spaces for the next meeting.

Jonna and James, of CAM, utilized the plasma-cutter to make plates. Preparing the plasma-cutter and creating the plates would take up the rest of their time.

Mika, our wonderful President, oversaw all operations of the team. At the beginning-meeting, she awarded Daniel with the Golden Wrench Award. She spent the rest of her time assisting sub-teams in their tasks.

Alexander, our equally wonderful Vice-President spent his time helping CAD in their work.

IMG_20151002_170431 — Alexander helping the CAD team.

Animation team explored 3DS-Max. Anthony C. and Chris R. also used a snow generator for their programs.

Yerine, Jacob, and Arvin continued their MATLAB review and practice on the Simulation team. They were also given the intro to their later project – mapping the trajectory of a football.

Luke, of Web, continued interviewing team members. His tactics are superb, and it can be said that the whole operation is Luke-ing good.

CAD member and only person on 3D Printing, Mikia printed two puzzles of South America. Mikia also studied CAD software.

IMG_20151002_171955 — Mikia using a 3D printer with nimble hands.

The other CAD members, Sipan, Claire, and Anthony K. performed the fall-training routines. They also setup Vaults servers for the whole team (very important), and finished packing the 3D printed robot parts.

IMG_20151002_170445 — Sipan setting up Vault accounts.

Prototype members Meetkumar, Lauren, Devon, and Karin practiced drilling, tapping, and filing by drilling, tapping, and filing.

The Lathe team was able to practice using the CNC lathe machinery up close. Lousaper and Arpi performed hands-on practice under the supervision of Mr. Black.

And of course, let’s not forget Blogging and Photography. Samuel Witt spent the day sorting photos and getting material for his blog. He also took beautiful shots of certain members to give to Business team to go with their quotes.

The day as a whole was pretty normal, except for the surprise snack. Samuel’s mother had purchased pizza for the whole team, and had it delivered to the lab. After Samuel communicated this to Mr. Black, Alexander, and Mika, a space was cleared for the plates, napkins, and pizza.

Once it arrived, Samuel placed plates in a stack as well as the napkins. Per policy, the mentors went first, then the students quickly followed. All eating was done away from any computers, and everyone washed their hands afterwards. Everything happened within thirty minutes, and then it was cleaned up and everyone returned to work.

The lab was closed shortly after 7:00.

Team 696 Blog

Monthly Archives: October 2015

10/23/15 – Friday – Do or Doughnut, There Is No Try

10/16/15 – Friday – Transitions

10/9/15 – Friday – Minimum Day

10/2/15 – Friday – Pizza Surprise

Team 696 Blog