ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS
9 Step Design Process
For the Bots in Black FTC robotics team, the design process begins with game analysis, where teams deeply scrutinize the year's game manual, understand rules, constraints, and strategize game-winning approaches. Sketches and drawings swiftly follow, conceptualizing robot mechanisms and components. Geometry studies ensure precision in motion planning and efficient use of space within the game field.
Subsystems take shape through Computer-Aided Design (CAD), meticulously detailing each part's specifications, placements, and interactions. This phase leads to design reviews, where the team critically evaluates feasibility, performance, and adherence to rules. Refinements are made, culminating in a final CAD model signifying readiness for the build phase.
Building the robot involves assembling components, wiring, and programming functionalities. After completion, a thorough review tests each mechanism's functionality, ensuring it aligns with the team's strategy and meets competition demands.
Maintenance becomes key throughout the season, with continuous adjustments, upgrades, and fixes. Teams analyze performance, strategize improvements, and iterate the design to stay competitive. This cyclical process of analysis, design, construction, and iteration drives the evolution of a successful FTC robot, fostering innovation and adaptability within the team.
STEP BY STEP
1
GAME ANALYSIS
This year, our game analysis took a unique path: we intentionally postponed design discussions for the first five days post-game reveal. This decision aimed to solidify our understanding of optimal strategy and avoid premature design excitement. By prioritizing strategic clarity over immediate design brainstorming, we cultivated a more thoughtful team dynamic, resulting in a deliberate and effective design process.
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2
DRAWINGS
In the second stage of our design process, we use drawings to communicate ideas for subsystems, robot strategy, and mechanisms. This step facilitates collaboration and allows team members to modify observations easily. Crucially, this stage serves as the decision-making hub, helping us eliminate designs and narrow down our robot design path efficiently.
3
GEOMETRY STUDIES
During the "Geometry Studies" phase, we methodically examined subsystem and full robot designs, checking their compatibility with game elements using simplified shapes. Employing motion mates, we maneuvered robot parts to gauge interactions, prioritizing smooth pixel passage from intake to deposit. Rigorous testing led us to identify an optimal slider angle range of 34-38 degrees, crucial for successful pixel deposition on a 30-degree backdrop, even amidst floor pixels.
4
SUBSYSTEM CAD
During the "Subsystem CAD" phase, we elaborate on our geometry studies, crafting detailed designs for five critical subsystems: chassis, intake, deposit, climber, and airplane. Our standout "pseudo-custom" chassis cleverly integrates elevators and belt-driven motors, optimizing both autonomous precision and space constraints, maintaining a slender profile within the 12" limit.
5
DESIGN REVIEW
In the "Design Reviews" phase, we conduct a battery of tests on subsystem CADs. This includes stress testing for structural integrity, evaluating weight distribution, and scrutinizing key motion aspects such as motor efficiency and actuator response. Precision in alignment and reliability under simulated scenarios are also assessed, ensuring optimal functionality and durability in our final robot design.
6
FINAL CAD
During the "Final CAD" stage, our detailed design process culminates in a comprehensive virtual blueprint of the entire robot, meticulously versioned in Onshape. This CAD encompasses minute details, serving as precise building instructions, marking the seamless shift from virtual design to physical construction for accurate and efficient robot realization.
7
BUILD
During the build phase, our efforts from previous stages materialize as the design transforms into reality. We start by compiling a Bill of Materials, assessing required parts versus available ones or those printable via 3D technology. Upon receiving the ordered components, we adopt a modular assembly approach to merge subsystems, enhancing maintenance capabilities.
8
REVIEW
During the "Review" stage, we meticulously assess the robot's performance, prioritizing issue identification and resolution to optimize functionality. We focus on ensuring mechanisms operate reliably in real-world scenarios, evaluating factors like speed, precision, and consistency for future improvements. This comprehensive review validates design effectiveness, guiding continuous enhancements toward a more functional and dependable robot.
9
MAINTENANCE
In the "Maintenance" stage, the chief goal is to keep the robot as functional and competition-ready as possible. Our team uses a lengthy Pre Meet Checklist to ensure all subsystems have been properly reset, are functioning as expected, and are ready for competition. The checklist runs through steps as basic as resetting the slider, unspooling the climber, to checking our gamepads for drift.
