In 6 days we will be going to our first competition of the season. It will be held on February 28th-29th at Macomb Community College. We hope to see you there! https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2020/MIMCC
Mechanical Update
by Mayra Gutierrez
On mechanical we have been working on integrating the climber into our robot. Since hanging on the generator switch is 25 points per robot, we wanted our robot to have the ability to climb. Designing a climber onto the robot involved constructing a new mechanism, but also adding and adjusting other structures. For instance, we adjusted the shooter and frame to make room for the climbers. We are continuing to make iterations to the climber and other mechanisms to prepare for our first competition. The mechanical subsection has been working hard on building the robot, and we are excited about next week's competition!
Electrical Update
by Even Malbouef
Electrical has consistently been staying busy over the past week. On the coding side, we have been coding the velocity control for the drivetrain, to make the robot drive easier and more efficient. On the wiring side, we have been doing many things. Including mounting and wiring the limelight on the practice robot. We also finished testing and evaluating the motors on the practice robot. During motor testing, we also made sure the whole ball system was operating as it should and tweaked it to be the best it could be. A part of electrical’s job is to test all of the batteries to make sure they are good for competition, and then rank them in order from best to worst. We just finished testing and ranked the batteries this week. We accomplished a lot this week, and there is more to come in the following.
Sponsoring and Partnering
by the Sponsorship Team
Each year the Fighting Pi meets the challenge to find sponsors and partners to help obtain funding to support our team’s $50,000.00 annual budget. These funds support our Robot Build, CAD, Business Teams and Outreach needs along with Competition Fees and Travel Expenses. We are fortunate and grateful to have many new and returning sponsors each year who donate money, materials and/or service to our team. Other organizations partner with us which means that we provide volunteer service to them in return for team sponsorship. No matter how our funding comes to us, it supports the successful run of our program. Finding new sponsors is challenging as we find ourselves needing to become more inventive and reach out further to find those willing to support what we do and come on board to help us meet our projected goals each year. With your continued help, we will succeed. We want to thank the many team members, parents, and sponsors whose assistance is making a huge difference in helping us get our foot in the door with potential sponsors allowing us to present our team and introduce the FIRST Robotics program to them. Also, a big thank you to all those who have helped by applying and obtaining grants for our team. You Rock! Keep it coming. Infinite Possibilities await us!
Armada Area Schools provide students a dynamic learning environment in order to cultivate a mindset for academic excellence and social growth. https://www.armadaschools.org
Quote of the Week:
In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." –Bill Cosby
