2023 Build Season Days 26-31 (2/13-18/2023)

Weekly Summary

With the build season coming to a close Talon is in a really good spot. Our practice bot was finished this week, our code is almost done, and we got to practice a slight amount. Everyone here at talon is super excited for our Duluth tournament.

Monday-13th

  • With another week ahead of the team. Talon got to work straight away on Monday after school. With plans to finish the practice bot by the end of the week. The room included the team to cutting more plates on the CNC and patching the electronics together on the robot. 

Marketing & Media

  • The marketing and media subteams were also hard at work on Monday evening. The marketing team brainstormed ideas for custom merch to give away at our tournaments and events. The media subteam review the Impact video, Trading card, and Team avatar. Monday was filled with assembly and business meetings. A great start to a long and productive week. 

Tuesday-14th

  • Tuesday was a lot of fun for all members in the room. We brought in a speaker and started to listen to music while working on our robot. Talon also got the parts needed to start building our second pair of swerve drives. So, multiple members spent their time building them. In addition to the swerve drive modules, we were also cutting another round of gussets to add to our robot. Tuesday’s room was quite messy with lots of projects going on. However, we got plenty done and were able to set up the plan for the rest of the week. 
Three team members smiling towards the camera. All three are working on the robot.

Weekly Team Meeting

  • When seven struck the team came together for its weekly team meeting. Not much was said as the time spent together was mainly used to discuss our upcoming trip to Duluth. The meeting ended early and the team went back to work in the room. 

Wednesday- 15th 

  • Wed-nes-day? Whens-day? No idea but Wednesday was no different from the other two days. Most team members spent time working on the new swerve modules we got on Tuesday. With the modules being complex parts that require a lot of assembly. The team makes sure everything is perfect. While the modules were being made, the CNC was voicing its concern by cutting more gussets for the team. No subteams met on Wednesday, but everyone was hard at work finalizing the robot’s electronics and code. The biggest highlight from Wednesday was the teams Culver’s fundraiser. The event itself was a huge success for the team. A huge shoutout to everyone who went.
Two team members sitting down next to a table and smiling. the table has various items that lists off information about FIRST. The table also has a banner that says Talon Robotics.
Vonnie and Etnik running our booth at Culver’s.

Thursday-16th

  • Thursday was quite similar to Wednesday. Swerve got finished by a couple of team members and the CNC was hard at work. Knowing that the robot was somewhat ready to go. A couple of programming members worked on the robot’s code occasionally testing it. In addition to testing, a few members worked on fixing Orion. With a demo coming up on the 20th, the team needed a robot that was able to work properly. By the end of Thursday, Orion was up and working just fine for a four-year-old robot. Thursday wasn’t that notable for the team but it was a great day for setting up for the weekend. With a four-day school week, Talon started its famous no-cleaning streak that would last until Monday.

Programming Meeting

  • The programming subteam met and had its usual meeting. While short they updated themselves on the projects that everyone is working on and the upcoming tasks that need to be done.

Friday-17th 

  • With no school on Friday, some team members were up at the crack of dawn working on the robot. At 9am the room was open to any early birds. The robot was finally taking shape as the cascading elevator was mounted. Electronics were also tested again and again as we were having problems with a couple of sparks. Fournially with better cable management this year, most problems were easy to solve. Friday wasn’t that busy as many team members were taking the day off. However, the day managed to end at its usual 9pm time making the entire day last for 12 hours. 

Friday’s Subteam Meetings

  • Outreach had its Friday night meeting, they started to plan out the team’s summer camps and discuss future outreach events. While short they got a lot done. Awards didn’t meet as they have submitted the impact award so there wasn’t much to do. Fourtanlly the fundraising and design subteams both met to fill in the gap. All going over their usual ordeals Friday was a great end to the week.

Saturday-18th 

  • Weekends are hit or miss for the team. Sometimes there is plenty to do, others rarely anything besides from the CNC. Saturday was spent doing final adjustments to the robot’s drivetrain. While not much build was able to happen. The team was able to assemble the practice mat and drive our new robot around. 

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