Team 2471

FIRST Fare 2017

Camas, Washougal and Hockinson Robotics

Bruce Whitefield

Team Built Tools and Jigs

FRC Team Built Tools and Jigs

• FIRST robotics teams have built a number of tools a

fixtures to help during build and competition.

• Team built tools are great pre-season design and build

projects. Save money while building team member skills

and new shop capabilities.

• This seminar is a forum to share ideas & examples of team

built tools and fixtures.

• Exact designs not included. Be creative, explore and design

your own. Share what works with other teams.

FRC Team Built Tools and Jigs

1. CNC Router Table

2. Motor Driver / Tester

3. Deburring Handle

4. Polycord Weld Clamp

5. Portable Band Saw Stand

6. Plastic Bender

7. Powder Coating Booth

8. Powder Coating Ovens

9. Rolling White Board

10.Rolling Workbenches

11.Cyclone Dust Collector

12.Rivet Nut Crimping Tool

CNC Router Table ($800)• Team built as summer project

• Frame, belts, sprockets and linear bearings

salvaged from donated equipment.

• Designed around the parts available.

• Great CAD learning project as well

• Dewalt DW611 router for spindle ($120)

• Gecko G540 4 axis dive kit ($675)

– NEMA23 570 oz-in stepper motors

• Surplus (old) computer with parallel port ($0)

• Linux & LinuxCNC open source software ($0)

CNC Router Table ($800)• Equivalent capability & size to $3500 CNC Kit table or

$4500 turnkey system.

• Cuts wood, plastic & carbon fiber panel.

• Add an air mister to cut aluminum.

• Typically use a 1/8” single flute spiral up cut bit

– Can get a pack of 10 with your KoP Inventables PDV

CNC Router Table ($800)

Variable motor driver ($4)

• Make from old battery operated drills after

the batteries die.

• Remove drill gearbox, motor & battery

– Note: Drill gearbox can have other uses !

• Solder wire leads with FIRST Anderson

battery connectors where the battery was

connected.

– Power up with any FIRST robot battery

• Wire motor connectors of choice to the

output previously connected to drill motor.

• Make adaptors for the different types of

connectors you use

Variable motor driver ($4)

Handy for prototyping systems

and troubleshooting robot.

• Variable speed trigger

• Reversible

• Inexpensive

You will want to keep a couple

of these around.

Deburring Handle ($2)

Hand deburring tools are great for cleaning

up aluminum holes and edges.

Blades are $1 each but the handles cost

$20+ each. (do not get the plastic ones)

Nice to have 4 or 5 of these around the shop

but $100+ in deburring handles is excessive.

A nice handle can be made from recycled

1/2” hex stock, hex spacer and snap rings.

Retaining pins are clips of .062” piano wire.

Polycord Weld Clamp ($10)

Polycord is handy or making intake or

conveyer belts and infinity drives.

¼” dia is the most common size.

Aligning cord ends for welding can be

tricky. This Polycord welding jig holds

the cord ends in alignment while

melting the ends. Turn the knob to

press ends together and let them cool.

Trim flash with flush cutter or utility

knife.

Commercial versions are ~ $130

Early Infinity

Belt Drive

Polycord Weld Clamp ($10)

Polycord ends can be heated with

standard plate attachment on a

soldering iron.

With the jig a directed high temp heat

gun works well.

Team 997 Polycord Welder

Handy carry caseEasy to make channel and cord clamps

Springs bring melted ends together

Repurposed cabinet latch for slide

Bandsaw & Stand ($140 to $320)

Portable bandsaw mounted vertically on

a small stand.

Made from plywood and scrap of ¼

aluminum plate. Salvaged EMO switch

to power on and off.

A favorite tool in the shop, Small and

portable to take to competitions.

• Variable speeds

• Safe learning equipment for new

students compared to larger & faster

band saws.

• Inexpensive blades, easily changed.

• Multiple types of blades available.

• Bolt or clamp to work table.

EMO Switch

Bandsaw & Stand ($140 to $320)

Biggest cost is the band saw. A donated on is

great. Used on Craigslist $100 to $160.

New Dewalt is ~$300

New Harbour Freight ~$140

Commercial versions of stand

available for $120 to $200

(saw not included)

Plastic Bender ($40 to $100)

Thin plastics like polycarbonate and ABS

can be heated and bent into shapes.

Heat up along line and bend over a form

before it cools.

A serviceable plastic heating system can

be made from heat tape mounted to an

insulated board.

Mount to a ¾” plywood board with groove

cut to recess the tape.

Cover with foil tape and heat resistant

fiberglass. (Heat tape and insulation

available from TAP plastics)

Plugs into wall outlet. No temperature

adjustment or breakers needed if heat tape

has appropriate resistance.

Plastic BenderMost expensive part is the heat tape.

Can sometimes find as salvage.

36” rewired with plug and ready to go from TAP for $82. Some 24” ones

online for $40

Commercial systems

have wide cost range

$120 to $500 or more.

Team 2471 has

considered making

another bender from

salvaged toaster oven

heating elements but

this one has been used

5 years and refuses to

break.

Powder CoatPowder Coating is a great way to get a

professional appearance for your

robot, pit and trophies.

Produces a durable plastic coating that

can be applied to conductive materials

like aluminum.

Many colors and finishes are available.

Electrostatic powder coat guns available for reasonable price. $70 to $150

Also need a powder coat booth and a cure oven.

• Small parts can be cured in a toaster oven.

• Robot frame sized ovens are very expensive.

Powder CoatingSpray booth

Power coat gun

Compressor

Powder

Powder Coat cure oven

Tote with various supplies:

• Dust mask

• Gloves

• Hanging wire

• Cleaning supplies

• Funnel

• Powder

Powder Coat Booth ($30)

A serviceable powder coat booth can be

made from Plywood, PVC pipe, an old robot

bag and some salvaged aluminum parts.

The part hanging piece is the most important.

It needs to be conductive so that it can be

grounded through the powder coat gun unit.

Hanger should rotate so that it is easy to

spray coat all sides of the part.

The plastic bag contains the powder spray.

Wear a dust mask while spraying.

Booth can be dismantled when not in use.

Powder Coat Booth

Part is grounded to

Powder coat system

through rack and wire.

Rack rotates so all

sides of the part can

be coated.

Booth made form

recycles plywood

and PVC pipe.

Plastic walls are from

an old robot bag.

Powder Coat Gun & Supplies

Powder coat gun available

from various suppliers:

Harbor Freight: $70

Eastwood dual voltage: $120

Powder Coat Oven

Powder coat curing produces some fumes

so it is best done outside.

The file cabinet cure oven is on castors so

it can be tucked in a corner for storage

and rolled outside for use.

Powder Coat Oven

A robot parts sized powder coat cure oven

made from an old file cabinet and recycled

toaster oven heaters.

Inside is lined with 1” x 24” ceramic insulation

blanket. One roll = $62 on ebay

Cover the insulation with aluminum foil and foil

tape or thin sheets of Aluminum. This oven

uses pop riveted aluminum sheet.

Heater elements:

4 toaster oven heating elements mounted in a

box made from the file cabinet drawers

mounted to the side.

• Could have been put in the back or bottom

• Salvaged household bake oven elements would

work but we do not have 240V available so used

120V toaster oven heaters.

Powder Coat Oven

Oven door seal

from ebay

On/Off,

Temperature set

and timer from

toaster oven

Kitchen oven temperature gauge

Toaster oven heater elements

Cure at 450F for 20 min

Works okay above > 300F with longer time

Powder Coat OvenFor small parts: Just turn a toaster oven on it’s side

Cyclone Dust Separator• Dust control is always a problem in a shop. Particularly from table

saws and CNC Router Tables.

• Standard shop vacs do a reasonable job of gathering dust but the

filters tend to clog up, reducing vacuum efficiency and costing $ to

replace.

• A small cyclone dust separator can be built for a few $ using a

bucket, ABS pipe and left over scraps of plywood.

• The dust separator drops out ~98% of chips and dust. It is much

easier to dump out when full and prolongs the life of vacuum filter.

Rivet Nut Crimpering Tool• Rivet nuts are a clever way to add robust threads to thin metal sheets

and frame pieces.

• Rivet nuts can be ordered on-line in a variety thread sizes and for

different thicknesses metal.

– rivetsonline.com: 100 Steel 8-32 rivet nuts for $6.74

• Cost of rivet nuts are reasonable but crimping tools can be expensive

and they may not fit or reach all locations on a robot,

Steel Rivet Nuts $.067

Crimping tool

$110.00

Aluminum Rivet Nuts

Rivet Nut Crimping Tool

A simple rivet nut crimping tool can be made from a short

length of steel rod or hex shaft.

Rivet Nut

Mill or file a

raised section

to grip top of

rivet nut

Rivet nut crimping tool is made from

7/16” or ½” Steel hex shaft.

Drill with close fit hole matching bolt

size of the rivet nut.

Make a tool for each size nut you use.

Bolt

Rivet Nut Crimping tool

A simple rivet nut crimping tool can be made from a short

length of steel rod or hex shaft.

Thread the rivet nut

onto the bolt to seat

tightly to the

crimping tool raised

edges.

This keeps the rivet

nut from rotating

while it is being

crimped.

Rivet Nut Crimping Tool

Drill close fit hole

in metal sheet or

frame extrusion.

Press or lightly

hammer rivet nut

into the hole to

seat flange to the

metal.

Use a wrench to keep

the crimp tool and

rivet nut from rotating.

Tighten bolt to

compress rivet nut

onto metal plate.

Compressed rivet nut

bulges out on inside to

clamp metal between

bulge and flange.

Drill & Driver Hanger

Handy way to keep drills and

drivers organized.

Made from scrap plywood

Rolling White Board ($120)Brainstorming, drawing and calculating space

is always at a premium.

This rolling frame has white boards on both

sides. It can be rolled out into shop or into

another classroom.

Panels from Home depot ($2x35= $70)

Recycled pine and plywood. ($30)

Locking Harbor Freight castors ($5 x 4 = $20)