The Mechanical Team is responsible for the construction of the competition robot. Students are responsible for teaching other students on the team. Senior members of the team over the years have written lessons for most of what is needed to be taught. They give formal and informal lessons to the newer students on all aspects of the robotics program. Veteran members of the team are required to give instruction if they are to be invited to any away competitions. They view this as a rite of passage, moving from rookie to veteran status on the team. This process can take place in one year or several years depending on the individual team member. They understand that this is part of leadership development. It also helps the students develop communication skills.
All students work with our corporate sponsor, Motorola Solutions Foundation. The corporate engineers work along side students instructing, modeling and demonstrating that which they do at Motorola. The combination of veteran members and Corporate sponsors provide the necessary instruction for the team to build a competitive robot each year.
In 2013, Motorola Solutions Foundation had an college intern with SolidWorks knowledge come to our school during the build season to teach the program to our 3D Modeling team. The seven team members were so enthralled that they worked an average of 7 hours a day/ 5 days a week during build season. They were able to completely model that year’s robot. Our school administration was so impressed with the quality of their work that they decided to immediately add a SolidWorks program to the high school curriculum. Our students immediately sat down with the teacher and wrote curriculum for the class. In the fall of 2013 when the class began, two team members were enrolled and acted as teaching assistants.
Also that fall, our district purchased a MakerBot 3D printer. Our students were asked to become familiar with it. They immediately began to design and print projects for the school audio-visual staff and custodial staff. The team then took advantage of its potential as a prototyping tool for the robot. They designed and manufactured parts that are on the 2014 Aerial Assist robot. In fact, all parts on the robot which are made of red plastic are designed and printed by our team. The school district now plans to purchase more printers with the intention of adding another class in 3D printing to the school’s curriculum.
All students work with our corporate sponsor, Motorola Solutions Foundation. The corporate engineers work along side students instructing, modeling and demonstrating that which they do at Motorola. The combination of veteran members and Corporate sponsors provide the necessary instruction for the team to build a competitive robot each year.
In 2013, Motorola Solutions Foundation had an college intern with SolidWorks knowledge come to our school during the build season to teach the program to our 3D Modeling team. The seven team members were so enthralled that they worked an average of 7 hours a day/ 5 days a week during build season. They were able to completely model that year’s robot. Our school administration was so impressed with the quality of their work that they decided to immediately add a SolidWorks program to the high school curriculum. Our students immediately sat down with the teacher and wrote curriculum for the class. In the fall of 2013 when the class began, two team members were enrolled and acted as teaching assistants.
Also that fall, our district purchased a MakerBot 3D printer. Our students were asked to become familiar with it. They immediately began to design and print projects for the school audio-visual staff and custodial staff. The team then took advantage of its potential as a prototyping tool for the robot. They designed and manufactured parts that are on the 2014 Aerial Assist robot. In fact, all parts on the robot which are made of red plastic are designed and printed by our team. The school district now plans to purchase more printers with the intention of adding another class in 3D printing to the school’s curriculum.
