General Building Best Practices for FIRST Tech Challenge

We know there's a lot to think about when you're getting started with FIRST Tech Challenge. So we wanted to start you off with some of our general building best practices so that you have a couple specific things to think about when you start building your robot. 

�       Design to facilitate easy repair. Make sure that every part is accessible and easy to fix for quick and painless pit repair.

�        Build the robot for competition. Consider the outcome of different types of collisions and add guards and bumpers in the design to minimize impact. Protect wires and position motors so that the end of the wire is inside the robot body.

�       As screws, nuts, and washers are removed from the robot or from early prototypes, check them for damage and discard or mark parts that are no longer perfect.

�       Keep drive wheels symmetrical. Asymmetrical wheels will make the robot behave differently when turning in one direction or the other, which makes it more difficult for the drive team.

�       Investigate and experiment with gear ratios.

�       Investigate and experiment with traction.

�       Make sure that only flat metal or plastic elements are under or around the battery mounting position. Sharp objects, screws, or nuts are dangerous in this location.

�        At the end of each build session, unplug all chargers.

�       Always double-check to make sure that fuses are matched exactly in type and amperage, and never use anything other than the correct fuse to bridge the connection, because batteries can overheat and catch fire if too much current is drawn.

�       Reroute wires through channels where possible, for safety, and to prevent entanglement.

�       Position the kill switch where it will be least likely to be accidentally tripped during game play.

Our veteran teams have worked through the building process in their past seasons. What are some of your general building best practice suggestions or reccomendations?