Team 254 Students,

This is a reminder that there are two workshops coming up this Friday and Saturday.

These workshops are considered MANDATORY if you intend to have a hand in the Conceptual Design, CAD, Manufacturing, Machining, Prototyping or Assembly of the robot.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of these workshops (all of them, not just these first two). These are one of only a few opportunities to pick up the skills necessary to help during build season. Once Kick-off occurs in early January, the fast paced timeline will not allow for very much additional training and preparation before tasks will be assigned to you all. It is imperative that you attend these workshops if at all possible. We understand there may be conflicting schedules and events, but we encourage you to try your hardest to attend.

Workshops and Times

Graphic Communication – Friday 12/2

• When: December 2nd
• Where: NASA Ames Robotics Lab
• Time: 6:00-8:30
• Prerequisites
• None – Everyone is welcome!

CAD Project w/ SolidWorks – Saturday 12/3

• When: December 3rd
• Where: NASA Ames Robotics Lab
• Time: 2:00-6:00
• Prerequisites:
• You must bring your personal laptop with SolidWorks 2010 or 2011 pre-installed. Click here for information on installing the student version (you must be logged in to the team website to access this page): Download solidworks This page will be updated shortly to include the necessary download information.
• Complete the “Getting Started” tutorial set within SolidWorks. Once in SolidWorks, go to: Help > SolidWorks Tutorials > Tutorials by Category – Getting Started
• Complete these tutorials:
• Intro to SolidWorks
• Lesson 1 – Parts
• Lesson 2 – Assemblies
• Lesson 3 – Drawings
• If you cannot meet these requirements or are overwhelmed with these steps, we will be having a more formal SolidWorks CAD workshop on December 16th.

Badging

If you are a parent of a student, a student who plans to drive themselves, or are a student 18 years of age or older, you will need a badge.

To sign up for a badge, use the online tool on the signups page.

For this week only, we will be processing the badges at 3:00 pm on Thursday (tomorrow). For the rest of the workshops we will be submitting badges at noon on the Friday preceding the week of the requested badge. If you cannot get a badge, we will be able to provide rides from the gate to the lab for students under 18. If you need a ride from the gate, please come 15 minutes early and call the lab to let people know you need a ride. When you call, let us know who is calling and how many people are with you.

Please e-mail Cory McBride with any badging related questions.

I apologize for the late e-mail and ask that you bear with us while we figure out some of these new processes.

Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Travis Covington
Team 254 Mentor