A preseason week in the world of FRC is usually spent learning about the new build tools or testing a new programming feature that would enhance the robot’s performance. Here at Team 1816, not only are we preparing to build a robot, but each member is working extra hours to make sure that our team and our community grows around STEM and Gracious Professionalism. Whenever we think we’re not doing enough, we have only to look at a sample of one week in November.
Our most recent busy week started with a visit to our Gold sponsor – DOW Water Solutions, Edina. The group was to present about FIRST and our team to their employees. Our build mentor from DOW, Mr. Mittag, arrived with his colleagues and gave us the thumbs up. The 10 members from our team were in front of about 15 adults and presented a brand new presentation for the very first time. They didn’t seem to notice that this was our first time presenting. They were amazed to learn more about the fantastic program that we are a part of, and were very admiring of our work on the robot and our community presence. The positive response lifted the spirits of our team.
The very next day, 1816 visited one of our Bronze sponsors, Stratasys. Last season, we worked with Stratasys to produce our 2013 robot’s 3D-printed, Frisbee-stacking augers. This visit was not only a chance to say thank you but for team members to extend their knowledge even deeper about the rapidly developing field of three-dimensional printing. We got to see Stratasys’ line of products, from their consumer-level MakerBots all the way to their massive industry-grade Fortus printers. We learned about the processes that happen outside the printer, like cleaning and sanding, and one of our rookie members took a turn at the washing station to test how well the water jets actually work. Our team returned to the workshop filled with ideas on “what next” to do with 3D printing capability.
This particular week ended with the 2013 Minne-Mini, hosted by Team 2169-KING TeC. This preseason competition was the last show of our 2013 robot, Zed. Zed truly had been through a year of highs and lows, but managed to finish with a strong showing of its capabilities. The team got some valuable experience through on-field driving and in-pit repair training.
Three more big events are on the calendar before Kickoff 2014. In early December, we’re presenting at Minnesota SPLASH; the next weekend, we’re dividing our team with half helping to run the first-ever FTC qualifying tournament in Edina and the other half in St. Paul as 1816 hosts “Robot Day at the Minnesota Children’s Museum.” All this before it is 2014, when we begin our 9th FRC build season!