​What we wish we had known...



​Mechanical
  • Put your E-STOP buttons on top of your bot and plan that in advance, so you can laser cut it easily one time
  • Don’t use acrylic in your bot - it looks edgy, but is very slippery, so you will need to use washers that you probably wouldn’t need on duron
  • Beware of spider couplers - it was difficult to compress them enough to set up the motors in their desired position and they would move over time
  • Make sure your design is mechanically robust - you don’t want to be testing it and find a loose screw

Electrical
  • When laying out your electronics hardware (and also designing the mechanical housing), keep in mind the best ways to isolate signal wires and lay out boards
  • Don’t use solid core wires on your power distribution board! They can get broken inside and then you might be able to only get a good electrical connection through wiggling (which is NOT a good connection long-term)
  • If you are going to use shielded wire (or aluminum foil sheets), make sure to ground it properly. Otherwise, you’ve made the problem worse
  • When looking at troublesome, consistent noise, use the oscilloscope to pinpoint the exact frequency and think about what parts of your circuit could be pulsing at that frequency
  • Make sure that you don’t daisy-chain circuits that are sensitive to noise. Instead, make sure that they are individually as close to the power and ground of the batteries as possible
  • Watch out for high inductive loads, like electromagnets. They will draw a lot of current, sometimes even if they are being held off for the moment
  • Your mechanical design and software will evolve throughout the project, which is to be expected. It is to your advantage, however, to plan your circuits and solder them early
  • Don’t use wires from old projects - don’t trust past 218 members’ crimping skills
  • Don’t be scared of blowing a capacitor! It’s really not a big deal. But, use small capacitors on power rails at your own peril

Software
  • Use key presses to check functionality of your state machine
  • Integrate slowly and carefully - beware of making mistakes in Sourcetree

General
  • Just because the teaching team gives you a sensor doesn’t mean that you have to use it! Devise a strategy that works for you, but be flexible if things aren’t going your way. Don’t buy into sunk costs!
  • Keep morale high by laughing at your mistakes, bonding with your team, etc. We had a quote board and a wall of shame that helped keep us grounded throughout
  • Have reach goals for the competition, but also basic functionality goals in case things don’t go the way you planned
  • Expect that the game will evolve - as you are building your bot, the TAs are building the board!
  • Starbucks opens at 6 (not 5:30 like it says online). Not every Thursday is Starbucks happy hour :(