P1 Tables
Two durable work tables with polyurethane coating and storage space.
2023 | FIRST Robotics Competition
Last year, our team found that the disorganization and lack of workflow led to an unproductive use of our time. Over the 2023 summer, I led an initiative to overhaul our workshop, designing and constructing tables, CNC enclosures, part organizer carts, a battery cart, and a tool wall for our portables classrooms.
From CAD to carpentry, the clean and level tables to work on offer a better place to build robots for years to come!
ROLE
VP of Mechanical Design
TOOLS
TEAM
FRC 3501
FTC 16532
FTC 16533
CAD | Layout
CAD | Tables
Challenge Overview
Our FIRST Robotics Competition team works out of 2 portable classrooms on campus. This renovation was a significant upgrade in terms of the organization, safety, robot testing, and build-season workflow. In addition to building robots, the renovations allow for additional utility to film educational videos, hold general meetings, and demo to prospective students.
Extensive research into other makerspaces and workshops, as well as inital planning can be found in this Google Document.
Planning
Designing the layout was informed by which tools, tables, and machines will be used in each part of the manufacturing process. The goal of the design was to keep all the essentials within an arm's grasp away, while leaving ample storage space for hardware, in-progress assemblies, and less-used machines.
Each of the major components (tables, cnc enclosure, tool carts) are modeled in Onshape. This allows us to create precise bill of materials and give team members assembly instructions.
Highlights
P2 Tables
Large meeting tables & 6 Wheeled tables make it easily to transform the room for robot testing, code sessions, lessons, and more.
CNC Enclosures
These two enclosures keep metal chips inside, store extra stock, and provide additional lighting.
Battery & Tool Cart
These carts can be easily transported to competition and hold smaller organizers full of small hardware pieces.
Tool Wall
Just behind the main workspace, the tool wall has every commonly used tool at arm's reach.
Results
After a full season of meetings, the tables held up amazingly. The flexibility of the wheeled tables and smooth workflow from the improved layout helped improve the overall efficiency, organization, and safety!