Build Blog 2017

Stop Build Day

At long last, our six-week period of build season has finished!

In the first part of the STEAMWORKS competitions, our robot has two strategies during the autonomous period, you can see them here and here. Then during the rest of the game, we will try to to transport gears to the airship as well as shoot fuel into the boiler. This tactic is designed to help the team score as many points as possible per game, ensuring (hopefully) victory!

Our robot is equipped with a ground fuel intake mechanism which gathers fuel from the ground. Fuel collected with this intake is stored in the magazine, situated in the middle of the robot and surrounded by poly-carbonate walls decorated with our sponsor panel. The two different intakes for gears are located on opposite sides of the robot; one amasses gears from the ground, and the other obtains gears dropped from the human player station.

It’s time to shift gears from creation into competition! 1678’s first competition, Central Valley Regional, takes place from March 11th to the 12th, in Madera, California. For all our local fans, you can come watch our robot compete at Sacramento Regional on March 23rd to the 25th, at the UC Davis ARC Pavilion on 230 La Rue Rd in Davis.

Week 7

This is the final week for Citrus Circuits Build Season, and the final installation of the 2017 Build Blog! Don’t worry- we’ll still be updating our social media, especially twitter and facebook, so check those out throughout the competition season to see what else the team is up to!

Robot programming has mainly been working on testing code for various tasks the robot must complete throughout the week, including autonomous, shooting, and ground gear intake. Our primary auto routine will be scoring one gear and shooting to achieve 40kPa - a video of this routine, with a bench grinder standing in for our robot, went viral with over 17,500 views on YouTube. Our second autonomous routine, getting two gears on the airship, was completed for the first time on Sunday! Click here to view the video. Robot programming has also been communicating with the drive team to troubleshoot any issues with the robot, fine-tuning as much as possible before Stop Build Day.

App programming spent a lot of time fixing bugs on their apps - the login apps, which replace manual attendance taken on a spreadsheet, and the scouting apps, which scouts will use to record, analyze, and present data at competition. A couple members have been analyzing Week Zero competition matches and using that information to further develop strategy, as well as putting together and organizing a strategy sheet that can have arrows and diagrams drawn on it.

Both mechanical sub-teams have been in a time crunch, perfecting all elements of the robot as much as possible before the Stop Build Day. All week, CAD has been redesigning both the shooter hood, so that it shoots more consistently steady shots, and the ball magazine, so that balls flow toward the shooter. Team members of the fabrication subteam have been collectively creating parts for the final robot. The fabrication subteam has been collecting the completed parts and integrating them. A few students have been making clamps to hold parts together.

Business and Media has been finishing build season tasks and moving on to preparing for the competition season! This week, they’ve (finally) completed the overall business plan that details how Citrus Circuits is run. With build season coming to a close and competitions growing closer, the subteam ordered buttons to hand out to other teams and a banner for competitions. There have been a couple of team promotion projects as well, including a PSA video and the March newsletter.

The electrical subteam has been furiously working to get everything they watt to be completed finished. After wiring the second practice robot, they tied pneumatic tube routing to the bottom using the ever-useful zipties. Additionally, they’ve been attaching and testing the LED lights, which, using transistors to source high 12 volt power from the spartan board, intake driver commands and translate them into combination of light signals. This will allow the driver to know if the robot has received the correct directions. Electrical has also finished correcting parts of the wiring that didn’t function quite right.

Some exciting news, deviating from normal build season schedule - NVIDIA came to visit our facilities on Saturday! A couple of robot programmers, along with some Business and Media members, gave them a shop tour. They were filming the team for a segment that they are putting together on FIRST and sponsorships. We had a ton of fun talking to the cameraman, David Weissman, along with his wife. Thanks, NVIDIA!

But alas, build season must come to a close as Stop Build Day (tomorrow!) looms over us. We’ll do one final update tomorrow, with a sneak peak of our finished, bagged robot! Farewell for now, and see you all tomorrow!

Week 6

With the completion of our first practice robot and the start of continual driver practice, our team has been putting in great efforts to complete at least two robots before Stop Build Day. All sub teams have been doing as much as possible to reach their goals, and their hard work is really showing!

Hip hip array! Robot programming is programming their programs, and their programmed programs are extremely successful. They have been writing code for the 15 second autonomous period of the competition, where the robot has to function without drivers and must rely on its own code to carry out tasks. Team members have also been working on the subsystems and are getting the superstructure working. The superstructure is all of the mechanisms of the robot that allow it to play the game, including the shooter, the gear intakes, and the ball intake. The robot programmers are also inputting button commands for the controller, which is used to operate the robot during the game.

The electrical subteam has been on wire this week! They finished wiring all the mechanisms for the first practice robot and have been adding quality control (QC) systems for the other two robots. The subteam has added secondary voltage regulator modules, mechanism wiring (motors), shooter wheel, shooter/climber, fuel intake, side conveyer-keep balls moving, and gear ground intake mechanisms onto the robot.

Mechanical design has been continuing to reiterate their designs, modifying and enhancing their previous designs from the first practice bot. They have been polishing the shooter geometry to ensure accurate targeting, and are also verifying the conveyer systems on the ground gear intake.

Mechanical fabrication has been hammering away nonstop, producing different parts and integrating them onto the second and third robot. Most of the parts created this week were second generation parts - designs from the first practice robot that have been refined for the next two robots. The most drastic changes have been made to the shooter - with adjustments to the ball compression - as well as the ground gear intake, in which they are improving the length of the conveyor belts.

Business and media is officially ahead of schedule! They have submitted the Entrepreneurship Award for the first time, an award that celebrates how a team shows ambition and integrity in their business plan. Furthermore, they have ordered all team shirts and sweatshirts, and are currently compiling the extra apparel orders. Lots of maintenance work has been done on the website, as well as planning and preparation for the upcoming Sponsor Open House. Lastly, the February newsletter is complete and viewable on the Citrus Circuits website!

We are excited to report that the app programmers have successfully released the login app for students on the team. The login app will enable members to log their hours spent at robotics and will more efficiently record the time each person is at meetings. Additionally, they’ve been doing more testing on the scouting app system. The subteam lead, Bryton, likened refining the code to solving a complex math problem that has lines and lines of equations: you most likely won’t get it right the first time, so you go back through the problem to see where you made a mistake, fix it, and improve it.

As the build period winds down, Team 1678 is busy finishing the robot and each subteam is working on all the parts needed to successfully complete the robot. As Stop Build Day (February 21) approaches, everyone will be putting in extra time to finish all tasks. Check back next week for the final entry of our 2017 Build Blog!

Week 5

Only two weeks left and all fuel (mostly in the form of caffeine) is being used to complete as much as possible. All subteams are gettin’ down and nerdy to do their work and meet their deadlines before Stop Build Day (February 21).

Electrical is ec-static to finish wiring the robot! Currently, they are soldering motors and wiring connections, as well as working on a fan system that will keep the robot from overheating and malfunctioning. The subteam is charging towards the finish line and is determined to have the robot wiring done as soon as possible.

Mechanical design has a huge “do” date in the next couple of days. By the end of this weekend, the goal is to finish CADing the entire robot. They aim to have all the designs for mechanical fabrication by the end of the weekend so that they can achieve their goal of completing the first robot. They also need to ensure that all parts communicate and interface correctly. The subteam has been working incredibly hard, and soon, all of that will pay off.

The whole mechanical fabrication team is putting in extra hours so that they can meet deadlines and finish projects. They are assembling the first shooter this week and are working on improving ground intake for both fuel and gears. Additionally, they’ve put on the human player intake for gears and a conveyor belt to transport fuel from the intake to the magazine. Instead of using in-kind sponsors to help with some of the pieces for the robot, as the team has done in previous years, they are building nearly everything on their own, using the multitude of machines in the shop (the CNC router, lathes, and mills) to fabricate the shafts for intake rollers, different angled parts, tubes, and spacers. The subteam is still continuing to manufacture parts and refine different components that need improvement.

This week, robot programming has been testing and running both the drivetrain and the code for the autonomous part of the competition, which is when the robot must act on its own without a driver. They have also been working on programs for the super-structure. Additionally, the subteam is creating a cheesecake that functions as a climbing system and will be put on other robots during competitions. A cheesecake is a part made to put on a robot to modify it so it can better work with the other robots on its alliance in a competition.

For the app programming subteam, a lot of this week has included bug fixes and working out kinks on the Super Scouting app. They’ve also started and finished several new sections of the app, including a bluetooth feature that will connect the tablets during competitions, as wifi hotspots aren’t allowed.

Business and media has completed several of their goals over the last week. They have finalized all of the team apparel, which includes several new items, and sent out the order forms for them. The Chairman's video - to be submitted as part of the Chairman’s Award, the most prestigious award given by FIRST - has been filmed and edited, and it is nearing completion. Additionally, the subteam continued to edit the Entrepreneurship Award essay.

All in all, Week 5 has been pretty successful so far. We have made a lot of progress and all of 1678 is optimistic that everything will go as planned. However, as Stop Build Day grows closer and closer, the pressure to complete assignments rises ever so quickly! Make sure to check in again next week for another build blog entry!

Week 4

Week 4 is already here! We are more than halfway done with the build season and so much has been accomplished! The robot is getting close to done, and the field elements that were built by parents are being put together by students into a practice field.

Electrical is currently taking one for the steam and juggling many tasks at once. They are wiring the competition robot, testing and setting up logic gates - which process input signals and allow the robot to use small signals and turn them into commands - and working on transistors - semiconductor devices that amplify or switch electrical signals. Transistors work by using small signals and running larger currents through it. An electrical current is run through one of the transistor signals and then is controlled by that transistor as the current passes through the next terminal. This system allows the controlled output to be greater than the controlled input, which amplifies the signal as it passes through the whole transistor. These transistors are used for many of the robot’s main functions, such as the indicator lights that programming is currently working on. Completing the robot wiring will be a huge accomplishment for electrical and the whole team.

Mechanical design is incredibly busy, spending all their time on the shooter system. The team decided that the shooter would be the make or break for the robot, so they need be sure the system is well designed. They are doing lots of detailed design and geometry on the small individual parts of the shooting mechanism so that they all work smoothly and in perfect unison. Another important part is the climber that is used in the final seconds of the game. The climber uses 3D printed spirals to guide the rope up as it climbs.

Mechanical fabrication has been making good headway as well. This week, they have been finishing and refining the drive base, as well as assembling the parts of the ball feeder prototype. It’s been a challenge to get the system of the ball feeder to work consistently, but their goal is to get it done by the end of the week. They have finished most of the mechanisms, but soon the challenge will be getting all of them on the robot.

Field construction, done by mechanical team members, is in full swing right now! Although many of the field elements were built by parents when the game was released, some of the elements have been rebuilt to make it easier to practice. The top part of the boiler was remade with a nicer material and was positioned along with all the other elements in their respective places on our field.

Robot programming is making lots of progress! They have been working on writing the drivetrain code and the superstructure sub system. The superstructure sub system is what coordinates the robot to the mechanisms on the robot. The system takes the commands from the controller and interprets them by splitting them up; it then gives the individual commands to each mechanism for them to complete whatever it is. The subteam has also been working on the indicator lights code, letting drivers and human players know what the robot’s task is so that they can better do their job.

In the app programming subteam, they have been working on implementing login apps for the entire team. With these apps, student members will log their hours at Citrus Circuits themselves so that subteam leads aren’t required to take attendance every day. They’ve also been improving and fixing bugs in the strategy scouting code.

Although they don’t have a robot to build, Business and Media has also been busy. They are wrapping up sponsor deals as well as making last minute adjustments to the sponsor lists on this year's t-shirt. Business and Media is also doing prototyping documentation, which will be included in the season wrap up videos, as well as the build blog! Lastly, on Saturday, they met with the Team 5458 Digital Minds from Woodland to help them with their business planning, sponsorships, and public relations.

Make sure to be on the lookout for all future build blog entries and videos, and have a great rest of the week!

Week 3

Wow, week three! Half of build season is gone, but fortunately, everyone is making a ton of progress. We’ve wrapped up the prototyping and almost finished CAD design for the robot. Each subteam (app programming, robot programming, electrical, and mechanical) has been working super hard with great results.

The robot programming subteam has also been working extremely hard. This Saturday, they taught team 1662, Raptor Force, from Lodi, California about mechanism code. Mechanism code is the code that controls how the mechanisms in the robot work such as moving belts or moving wheels. The robot programming subteam also worked on finishing their own mechanism code, as well as the basic auto driving code.

The most notable of app programming's accomplishments this week was the completion of the super scout app. This allows the students, known as super scouts, to input subjective rankings of teams' abilities (such as speed or agility) into the database. App programmers also finished a system for recording and cataloging match videos. They will use the data from the super scouts, as well as these match videos, to decide which teams would be effective alliance partners for Citrus Circuits during competition.

The mechanical fabrication subteam got a lot done this week. They created prototype parts for a mock first generation gear intake. A gear intake is special for this years game where you have to pick up gears. The gear intake picks up gears from the ground. They also got two drive trains up and running. On Sunday, the fabrication team produced two more gear intakes, one for the competition robot and one for the practice bot.

The electrical subteam made quite a bit of progress as well! Their largest accomplishment was wiring and mounting the belly pan onto the drivetrain. The belly pen is what holds all the electronics to the bottom of the robot, including the power distribution panel, voltage regulator module, encoder, and electronic speed controller. Finishing the drive train and robot base will allow programmers to practice driving the robot around. Only week three, and the robot almost moves!

And finally, the mechanical design subteam has been working very hard this week. They finally completed the drive train assembly, and also continued working on the mechanism that will intake fuel for the robot. It’s been a difficult week in terms of exploring different ways each part will fit together. They have spent a lot of time developing, modifying, and fixing different parts. The more they add on, the more parts they have to re-adjust and fix. Overall, the main challenge of the week for design has been leaving enough space for every required part of the robot; there are just so many things to fit in, but the design team has done a great job strategizing and working out how to fit things together.

That’s it for this week, but remember to check back next week for more photos, updates and info on the build blog!

Week 2

Week 2 is already here, and we are so pumped for FIRST STEAMWORKS! After brainstorming and coming up with a strategy, we have started prototyping all of the various parts of the robot. Mechanical and electrical have divided into five prototyping groups, and each group is building a basic version of their part of the robot. For example, the shooter group is designing a mechanism that will allow the robot to shoot 15 bps (balls per second) into the high goal using spinning wheels.

Another group is magazine indexing, which is figuring out how to hold all of the fuel that we pick up during the game. Part of that is prototyping a design to get fuel from the magazine to the shooter. They have figured out how to use belts and brushes to pick up the balls and carry them across the robot into the magazine.

The human player gear intake division, another prototyping team, is creating a plan to relocate gears from the human player to the robot. They’ve made a box with a back that comes out, so as the gear slides down, it goes right into a slot at the right height (see right). It’s then pushed so it goes onto the gear lift. This group had a ton of prototype ideas, but they decided to “gear” towards this one.

We also worked on both fuel and gear intake from the ground. Ground fuel intake is combining brushes and rollers so that balls can be picked up as the robot runs over them on the field (see left). Ground gear intake worked on three different designs, the third of which ended up ultimately being successful. It used little red round wheels (try saying that ten times fast!) to roll the gear into the robot, adding a block in the middle to create a place where the gear would be stuck in place.

However, mechanical and electrical weren’t the only busy ones this week! App programming worked hard to start apps that would help with scouting, figuring out what would best complement our strategy and beginning code for a series of apps, which will greatly facilitate data collection. They designed a list of data they want the scouts to collect, and then talked about an intuitive user interface that would allow the scouts to collect that data. In parallel they’ve been working on doing the calculations (data analysis) needed for the same goals mentioned above.

Robot programming was working on all the code needed to let the robot function, Vision in particular. Using a camera, this Vision software allows us to detect the boiler - which is lined with strips of retroreflective tape - and calculate the angles needed in order to correctly align to the goal and shoot consistently. They also started work on programming the different mechanisms on the robot and how the mechanisms will work together.

Shoutout the the CAD team, who finished the drivetrain and began digital mock-ups of the robot!

Overall, Week 2 has been pretty eventful and progressive. All sub-teams have been working really hard with (mostly!) good results. With one third of our build season gone, everyone here is having fun, but still feeling the “pressure” of a looming deadline! Stay tuned for for announcements and recaps on our weekly 2017 Build Blog!

week 1

Welcome to build season, where Citrus Circuits is currently gearing up to chug full steam ahead into FIRST STEAMWORKS! This handy little page will chronicle our adventures navigating towards Stop Build Day - the final day of build season - so don your goggles, power your engines, and strap in for the ride!

Our journey began with Kickoff on Saturday, January 7, when our entire team traversed the dark and rainy landscape to Kennedy High School in Sacramento. Once there, we - as well as many other teams in the region - held our breath in anticipation as FIRST’s broadcast revealed the complexities of this year’s game: STEAMWORKS. Click here to watch the exciting reveal video!

STEAMWORKS seems to be the most complicated challenge in the history of the FIRST Robotics Competition, as it contains multiple segments that teams must complete in a race against time. The aim of the game is to power up your airship - a station situated on the field - by building up steam pressure, starting the rotors, and preparing for flight. Robots must accumulate fuel (whiffle balls) and score them into the boiler via the high and low goals, which in turn converts the fuel to steam on the airship. Meanwhile, they must also collect gears and deliver them to the pilots in the airship, who will assemble them into a gear train and then crank it to start the multiple rotors. Lastly, near the end of the match, robots must prepare for takeoff by climbing ropes attached to the airship.

In order to conquer this monumental game, we spent the entire weekend in a full-on strategy discussion, preparing ourselves for competition by huddling around the newly released game manual, testing our knowledge of these new rules, and brainstorming and sharing ideas and designs. All of our efforts accumulated into a solid foundation of strategy and robot requirements, which we will continue to build off of into the season. As of this weekend, the team has split into five different prototyping groups, experimenting with shooting, indexing, intaking, and loading the various game pieces.

Stay tuned for weekly updates, info, and photos as we share this journey with you through our weekly Build Blog!

thank you parents!

A big thank you to our parent build team, who spent most of Saturday constructing the field elements for us to practice and prototype on! The entire team would like to thank Daniel Hahn, Mark Moeller, Paul Brandy, Sean Liu, Junhui Huang, David Solomon, Jan Wright, and Buck Cutting - the structures look amazing, and we can’t wait to start testing on them!