Organization Project

Project Lead, design and assembly

Mar 2020 - Oct 2020

Road Case Organization System

During the 2019 offseason, our team purchased many Stanley Organizer Boxes to hold small parts and tools. This was a good upgrade from previous years since we were able to store items in a standard box. Pictured on the right is our robot pit during the 2020 Central Valley Regional, in which we have 3 shelves that hold the boxes. While simple, this system was far from effective, since it involved removing the box completely from the shelf and placing it on top of a surface before anything could be accessed. To solve all these problems, in March of 2020 during the COVID pandemic I began work on custom roadcases to manage and store our Stanely Organizer Boxes.

The case is designed to split in half into two shelves, each with the capacity of 11 thin Stanley Organizer Boxes. It was also designed around our team's existing environment. For example, its heigh is such that it fits cleanly underneath the tables in the lab space, and the width took into account how it would fit into the rear of the school district vans.

4 4'x8'x1/2" prelaminated plywood sheets shortly after arriving at my family's garage

Throughout the design process I used solidworks to made sure that the boards would fit nicely on a 4'x8' sheet, which they do. With this, I was able to cut enough boards for 10 road cases using 4 4'x8' sheets.

One concern that I had while designing this was the pullout force of the wood screws. While traditionally rivets with washers would be used, I had to use wood screws since the inside of the case had to be completely flat. To test the pullout strength, I mounted a roadcase handle upside down using only one screw and on plywood of considerably lower quality, and then I supported my full body weight on it. Since it did not break, I was confident that with the rest of the screws attached we would not have any problems with fastener pullout.

Instead of having all the roadcases just carry the Stanely organizer boxes, I also took the opportunity to have the roadcase double as a battery cart, with the ability to hold batteries and charge them via a power inlet mounted on the bottom of the case. This was a massive upgrade for our team, since previously we had just laid the battieries out on the floor. With this battery cart we also developed a system in which we would take the right most battery, shift all the batteries to the right, and , and then place the new battery in on the left. With this, we can ensure that we always take the battery that has been charging the longest.

To hold the Stanely organizer boxes, I used the small channels that go around the edges of the boxes. While this feature is only a result of manufacturing, I was able to take full advantage of it by slipping a 3/32in 6061 t6 aluminum strip into it. Inside the channels, there are also cross supports that got in the way, so I cut out slots in the aluminum strips using a circular saw. This design allows the box to be removed and placed in quickly and easily, while minimizing the amount of material used, since a traditional design would have used a floor for each drawer. By not having a floor for each drawer, the internal volume is also able to be used by larger items when the organizer boxes are removed.

The Finished Product

Foldable Pit Table Project

This project is currently a work in progress, since I graduated before I was able to complete it. It is currently being worked on by new team members with my help and guidance.

For this project, I took inspiration from a fellow California team, our 2019 Houston World Championship alliance captain 973 Greybots. Their pit system, the "Super-Pit" consists of 2 large tables that would be set up inside their pit. While we aspired to have a pit similar to this, we do not usually have the resources to transport such large pieces of equipment, since it would require renting a trailer for every competition, which would quickly get expensive, and add a lot of complexity to our logistics. Instead, I sought out to design a folding table that would integrate well with our road cases as well as our fabrication lab.

In the end, I came up with this design using SolidWorks, which I dubbed the "not-so-super-pit." While designing, I took into account that it would likely be underclassmen assembling the parts, so I took advantage of this opportunity and designed it such that assembling it would be similar to how we assemble our robots, using things such as gussets and rivets. This means that when underclassmen work on it, it would also be a good training exercise.

This is an example of how our pits could be set up in a standard 10'x10' pit

This is an example of how our pits could be set up in a standard 8'x8' pit

A pit table in the folded configuration. Dimensions are 9"x60"x30".

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