The shop is BUSY Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons January - February. Each year Maker Works supports another group of high schools building their robots for FIRST! Below are just a few shots of what was happening on a recent Sunday afternoon.
Wait, what is FIRST? FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international program that inspires young people to become leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) by engaging them in hands-on, team-based challenges. Each season, students design, build, and program industrial-sized robots to tackle a unique challenge. The latest game, "REEFSCAPE," emphasizes ocean exploration and conservation, challenging teams to enhance ocean habitats through innovative robot designs.
Students and mentors learn machining skills to support use of tools like the Bridgeport mill. This enables them to create and cut precise parts for their robot chassis by manupulating an endmill to remove material in a piece of metal across the X, Y, and Z axis. With the Bridgeport, this is a very manual (not CNC) process, but depending on your needs it can be quicker to get a job done when compared with the CAD/CAM/CNC toolchain required for the Tormach CNC Mill (see below).
Collaboration at its finest! The ShopBot CNC Router is used to cut pieces for the REEFSCAPE field. This effort exemplifies teamwork, with materials funded by the PiHi Samurai team and fabrication handled by Zebrotics. The ShopBot does a fantastic job repeatedly cutting accurate shapes in wood, foam, and plastic up to 4’ x 8’!
Creativity extends beyond robots! Vibrant team shirts are made cost-effectively by ordering sublimation transfers and pressing them on the Maker Works heat press. The Vinyl Cutter does a fantastic job when working with non-polyester fabrics or working with one or two colors. Sublimation transfers do a phenomenal job when dealing with multiple colors — even gradients. And yes, the Zebrotics team has one of the coolest logos.
Precision is key! The Saline Robotics team spent some time on one of our favorite tools in the metal shop: The Tormach CNC Mill. Similar to the Bridgeport this tool enables very precise drilling and milling in metal and plastic. Before turning this machine on, a design is created in CAD software and converted with CAM software to a format the Tormach understands (G-Code). It takes more work than the Bridgeport, but the results can be repeated more easily.
It wouldn’t be FIRST if you there wasn’t a photo of the omnidirectional Mecanum wheels and a robot on its side! These robots have some serious power, speed, and ingenuity behind them. Each year the FIRST Robotics season brings together thousands of teams across the world, each one coming up with solutions to a number of challenges.
Maker Works is extremely proud to be able to host a couple local teams and support their work. We often hear from local engineering firms that when hiring, experience with FIRST can be the difference in who gets the job.
If you’re a FIRST team looking for access to the shop, shoot us an email! Maker Works currently subsidizes most of the cost of this, if you’d like to help, please consider making a donation to the shop!