​2016 - 17: FIRST Tech Challenge Velocity Vortex

The robot, the pride and joy of the team. Well, not always the joy. This is not the first design for our robot, and this is not the second. This year, our robot has been very difficult to make and the current robot has been made through a lot of trial and error. 

Our strategy is to shoot and cap during teleop. During autonomous, our goal is to push beacons and shoot but the beacon park is not done yet. In order to accomplish these tasks our robot has a shooter, collector and lift. Along with a semi-custom drive-train.
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The robot pictured on the right is nicknamed “Stephrambe Curry” because of our strategy to shoot.
Shooter
  • ​4-1 Gear Ratio
  • 2 shooter wheels per motor to get the most contact with the ball possible
  • When shooting on full power, we can shoot up to 10ft
Collector
  • Made up of 3/8" Hex, polycord and 3D printed pulleys
  • The flexible flaps are 3D printed
  • The collector uses a NeveRest 20 motor for fast collecting
Cap Ball Lift
  • Lifts about 6ft in the air
  • Uses a NeveRest 60 motor to lift up in under 8 seconds
  • Uses 1" double extrusion for the most robust and sturdy lift possible
  • Weighs about 10lbs
Drive Train
  • Modified Andymark TileRunner
  • Motors are mounted in between the inside and outside plates to allow for an open center base

Awards:

Chicago League Championship - Inspire Award Winner
Chicago League Championship - Innovate Award Finalist
Chicago League Championship - Motivate Award Finalist
Chicago League Championship - PTC Design Award Finalist
Chicago League Championship - Think Award Finalist
Chicago League Championship - Connect Award Finalist

Illinois State Tournament: 19th place finish in Qualification Matches

Mentors:

Aaron Lee - Head Coach, Computer Science Teacher
George Austin - Faculty Advisory, Mentor, Physics Teacher
Xiao Zhang - Mentor, Physics Teacher
Mike Johnson - Business Mentor

Team Members:

Nathan S. - Captain, Driver
Olivia G. - Captain, Drive Team Coach
Levi S. - Mechanical Lead, Driver
James H. - Mechanical team, Driver
Vlado V. - Mechanical team, Drive Team Coach
Will P. - Mechanical team
Cole R. - Head of Media, Engineering Notebook Editor
Adam K. - CAD Team, Electrical Lead
Cam F. - Mechanical team
JJ B. - Programmer
Max L. - Scout Team
Gus C. - Programmer
Elijah U. - Mechanical team, Scout team
Owen B. - Mechanical team, Scout team
Jeremiah B. - Mechanical team, Scout team

Engineering Notebook