FRC Robotics
Project · 2024
- Robotics / Mechanical Design
- Onshape
- 3D Printing
Overview
As the head mechanical captain on my high school's FIRST Robotics Competition team, I led a 20-person subteam in designing and fabricating a large-scale, 125-pound FRC robot.
FRC is an international high school robotics competition where teams design, build, and program robots for a new game challenge each season — ours had to be built, tested, and competition-ready in six weeks.
My Role & Responsibilities
My responsibilities included:
- Led the mechanical subteam through build season.
- Designed robot subsystems in Onshape CAD.
- Oversaw fabrication on mills, bandsaws, 3D printers, and laser cutters.
- Taught new members design, fabrication, and assembly skills.
- Coordinated with leadership and mentors to keep a 100-member team organized.
Engineering Design & Build
Modular subsystems
Every subsystem was designed to bolt on and off independently, so a failed grabber or climb mechanism could be swapped between matches instead of rebuilt.
Aluminum frame, mixed subsystem materials
The body used aluminum tubestock and sheet metal for stiffness, while subsystems mixed aluminum, HDPE, and 3D printed parts where weight and iteration speed mattered more than strength.
Fabrication driven by shop capability
Parts were designed around what the team could actually make in-house — vertical mill, metal bandsaw, miter saw, sheet metal brake, printers, and laser cutter — which kept turnaround inside a single build day.
Subsystems
- Grabbers: Ground pickup mechanisms for game pieces.
- Elevators: Vertical lift stages to move game pieces up and down.
- Shooters: Launching mechanisms to score into elevated targets.
- Climb: Winch and pneumatic systems to lift the robot onto bars.
- Drivetrain: Motor, gearbox, and wheel assemblies for the base.
Technologies Used
- Onshape
- 3D Printing
- Metal Fabrication
- Laser Cutting