Design Process and Notebook
Rolling robots VEX Design Process
1. Strategy Development
Determine how you are going to play the game and how points are scored, develop this into robot requirements.
2. Preliminary Design and Test
Build and test any conceptual designs that have uncertainty. preliminary design is where we remove the unknowns, not necessarily build the final robot.
3. Heritage Design Research
it is always good to base designs on prior work of your own team as well as others. Document what ideas you have seen who has used them. Document technical details and performance related to your potential use of the design.
4. Flight Design and Build
This is where you design and build the robot you will use in competition. With our mentors coming from an aerospace engineering background we use the term "Flight Design" imagine that this is the design that will "fly". it therefore must be based on solid a solid design process, be adequately tested and documented to assure reliability at event. This "Flight" Hardware should not be changed without cycling back through the design process.
5. All Up Testing
Test as you fly, the robot is tested in conditions the same as will be at competitive events. Results are measured and recorded so engineering decisions can be made.
Notebook Reference Materials:
Notebook Guidelines. The notebook is an engineering document with data that describes the design process and results of testing. It should be a document someone could use to reproduce your work. or for a new person joining the team to become technically capable of continuing work on the robot.
Electronics Format. Any electronic format that is open to the public is suitable for the notebook. The preferred vex templates use google slides. Google Slides should be the format we use.
Extra point are given for notebooks that show clear date tracking and version control.
VEX Templates:
The Notebook is not a team Journal.
RECF VexRobotics Page - click the notebook section
Rubrik for Notebook
This is the Judges Rubrik for the Notebook