Build Season has begun!
Week 1 • January 2024
Thank you for all your support of our team! Without your sponsorship, this build season would not be possible. Here is what we have been working on over the past week.
Kickoff
Quickstrike Niagara had an eventful weekend! Saturday was Kickoff, which is when the new game is revealed for competition season. During our meeting on Saturday, we reviewed the game manual and examined it carefully. We divided the manual into sections, assigned a group to work on each section, and then each group presented their section to the entire team. This ensured everyone understood the game. Afterwards, we talked about the different ways to play the game and different strategies we could use to play at competitions.
Prototyping
With guidance from mentors, students divided into two groups to explore different mechanisms. The first team explored how to create a shooter for the notes. They created a wooden ramp to angle the shooter and tested it to become functional. With a steel plate, the group attached a motor with a wheel so the note would slide up and shoot out. The second group worked on a pick-up device to grab notes from the ground. They also created a steel U-shaped bracket with a motored roller to move the notes into the robot. We are now working on solidifying our designs and ensuring our concepts work consistently.
Testing
On Tuesday, we began testing our shooter. Using the prototype we designed earlier in the week, we were able to ensure our shooter design was reliable. We were able to clear the height of the speaker!
Next Steps
During the upcoming week, we plan to test the pick-up mechanism, develop a climber, and improve/calibrate the shooter. Thank-you for helping our community team reach so many youth! Without your sponsorship, we would not have made such a large impact in our community!