TEAMS
MULTIMEDIA
RESULTS

 

TEAM MEMBERS
Johnson Boyce - I came into the shop knowing about the shop a little because I had some wood working classes, but I didn't know a lot about metals. I knew some of the processes but I learned in this class that metal work isn't as easy as some people make it out to be. It's nothing like wood working. Knowing about metal work is going to be good for me because knowing how to weld and fix things in the fishing industry will save me time and money in the long run.
Colin Bruce - I grew up in Stonington, ME. When I was about ten years old, my family and I moved to Deer Isle, ME. I have been a fisherman my whole life - I just don’t have the money to buy my own boat. I had very little experience when I came into this class, but I know I have gained so much.
Collin Ciomei - I am a fisherman and work as a stern man on my brother Bryant's boat. Before I took this class I didn't know a thing about any of the machines or tools or wiring. I think this stuff is interesting and feel it is important to know. I thought it would benefit me to take this class.
Garret Steele - When I started this class I only knew how to work with wood. I never took a metals class before. It's good that I know how work with metals. When you own a lobster boat, like me, you need to know how to fix something when it brakes. Now that I have taken this class, I feel like I can fix more of my own problems rather then paying someone else to do it.


 

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Click image to see the Ram-Rod trailer...
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Ram-Rod Description
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Our robot's frame is made out of two pieces of angle iron, each 18” long, with two 18” pieces of flat bar going across - making our frame into an 18” square. It’s powered by two wiper motors, one on each side of the frame with the tires set on the inside of the frame. For turning, we have two caster wheels that allow the robot to turn when we put power to only one wheel at a time. It works the same way in reverse. The battery is mounted in the back between the two tires - to help give the tires traction. We put a plow on the front to protect the caster wheels. We also put a roll cage on to protect the battery and tires. We welded some sheet metal on the very back, up about six inches - so we couldn't get rammed from behind by another robot. The back tires, the ones that power it, are 8" solid rubber and the casters are 2.5". We developed a wireless remote control (R/C) unit with help from Mr. Simmons. This allows us to control the robot from up to 75 feet away and when we hooked it up it gave us reverse. All the teams had to use Gel-Cell batteries so if they are overturned it won't leek battery acid.
Learning Experience
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The learning experience has been very interesting because we didn't know how to do a lot of the things that we did on these robots. Some of the team knew how to use most of the tools, but some of the things we did to make the robots we didn't know. One of the favorite things that we learned how to do was weld. Some of our team had never welded before coming into this class and we were glad to learn it. Welding is really fun and it's a good thing to know when your in the fishing industry. We also learned how to use the cutting torches to cut steel.
Lessons Learned
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We now know that its better to measure twice and cut once. Also, making a bad cut is a sure way to waste materials. You can't just cut and weld or cut and bolt. If you don't measure it will come out crooked and out of square. We have also learned patience. We thought we would come into the class and completely build our robot in about two weeks. We were wrong. We are still working on the little things and are in our third month of construction.
Reflection
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Added at end of project.