🪛Manufacturing, Maintenance & Pit
Last updated
Last updated
Please also refer to our page.
Robot maintenance is separated in 2 main parts - in shop and at competition.
In-shop, robot maintenance consists of keeping the robot in competition shape - things like greasing, replacing/working on parts that can stretch/morph over time (ex. Chain, belts, sprockets), and making sure that any damage that happens at events is fixed.
In the pit, robot maintenance is quick-fixes and making sure that anything that is prone to breaking wont.
A large part of this is ensuring that your pit is an efficient space. This can be done by keeping tools and parts organized in crates and tool boxes, having key resources like batteries organized (ex. Battery carts) to make sure that you always have charged batteries, and making sure that the space flows so that in the case of damage, the pit crew can work efficiently.
The FRC 3481 Bronc Botz Pit is laid out like the below image :
We travel with 2 rolling toolboxes - one primarily stocked with tools, and one stocked with parts.
We also travel with 2 white origami shelves, which we use to store crates full of additional tools and parts.
A custom battery cart capable of storing and charging 14 batteries is a key part of the pit, as it also assists in transporting our lexan, stock metal, and additional storage below the batteries.
The black box cart is designed to hold and transport interlocking tool box organizers separately for easy access.
In order to increase pit crew efficiency, we create a pit checklist at the beginning of the season and update it at the end of each competition with relevant information. Our pit checklists are usually divided by sub-system (ex. drivetrain) and each section includes any maintenance or routine checks that need to be made for that sub-system (ex. Check chain tension or grease gearbox). Each sub-system is assigned to a permanent member of the pit crew, and the sheet is laminated and used with a dry erase marker. Each year, the pit checklist changes based on that robot. Reference our 2022 pit checklist here. Each checklist can have hints in smaller text next to if it needed (we usually do it for the first event, and remove it after).
