Engineer — Spartan Design

📝 Before You Build — Kickoff Week

Start the notebook before you cut metal. Define the problem, brainstorm concepts, run a decision matrix, and CAD before building. This is the Spartan Design sequence.

🗺 Notebook Pathway → 📝 Getting Started → ⚙️ Mechanism Sprint → 🔄 Start CAD →

⚙ What are you working on today?

⚡ Engineer Today

Pre-check the robot

Before touching code or hardware

Fix one specific problem

Not everything at once

Test the change

5 runs, measure the result

Record one note

What changed, what happened

🔬 When Something Breaks

🔍 Step 1

Inspect

Define the exact symptom. Reproduce it 3 times.

🔧 Step 2

Isolate

Mechanical or software? Test manually before blaming code.

⚙ Step 3

Fix & Test

Change ONE thing. Retest. Multiple changes = no conclusion.

📝 Step 4

Log It

What changed, what happened. Notebook entry, do it now.

🚗 Drivetrain

💡 Build it first, test every session. A robot with a broken drive scores zero.

✅ Pre-Practice Drivetrain Check

All 4 drive motors spin freely — no grinding

Manually turn each wheel. Resistance = issue.

Critical

Chain or gear mesh — no slack, no binding

Slack = skipped teeth under load

Critical

All drive screws tight — check anti-slip inserts

Vibration loosens axle set screws every 2–3 practices

Critical

Motor temps below 50°C at start

Check Brain > Device Info before driving

Important

IMU calibrated — robot still for 3 s on Brain boot

Moving during calibration causes heading drift all session

Important

Drive straight test — 6 ft run, <1 in deviation

Deviation = motor imbalance or wheel alignment

Verify

🔍

Full Robot Pre-Check

16-point checklist before every session

⚡

Wiring & ESD Protection

How bad wiring kills matches and ports

📝

Getting Started with the Notebook

Build log, test entries, and CAD evidence

📄

Notebook Template Guide

Build log format, test log, and iteration dividers

🔪

Odometry Pod Build

Parts list, assembly, verification

🔧

V5RC Tools Guide

Hand tools, power tools, safety

⚙️ Mechanisms

⚠️ Stop Building If…

×Something feels forced — stop, it hides a misalignment

×Parts don’t align — misalignment fails mid-match, not during build

×Screws are stripping — a stripped screw in a critical joint is match-ending

⚠️

Before you rebuild: Test as-is first. Document what breaks and why before tearing it apart. Your notebook needs the failure data, not just the fix.

🔬 Troubleshooting Protocol

Define the failure — exact symptom, not “it’s broken”

Example: “Intake jams on rings tilted more than 20°”

Step 1

Reproduce the failure 3 times

If you can’t reproduce it, you don’t understand it yet

Step 2

Isolate: mechanical or software?

Test mechanism manually before blaming code

Step 3

Change ONE thing, retest

Multiple changes = no clear conclusion

Step 4

Document: what changed, test result, conclusion

Notebook entry — do it now, not later

Step 5

⚙️ Mechanism Guides

🎰

Intake Design

Rollers, compression, anti-jam

⬆️

Lift Systems

Arm, four-bar, six-bar, DR4B

🎯

Flywheel Shooters

Compression, velocity control

🚀

Launcher Systems

Catapult, slingshot, puncher

🔁

PTOs & Motor Sharing

Shift drive motors to mechanisms

💨

Pneumatics

Air budget, solenoids, shifting

🚫

Stall Detection

Protect intake and lift motors

🤖

Full Competition Code

Arm presets, intake toggle, macros

🔧 Hardware Reference

Item	When to Use	Common Mistake	Status
Loctite Blue (242)	All structural drive screws, axle collars, pivot points	Using Red (permanent) or skipping — screws vibrate loose	Must Use
Nylon Lock Nuts	Anywhere a nut must stay tight through movement	Using regular nuts on pivot screws — they back off every match	Must Use
Anti-Slip Mat	Under motors, inside gear housings, intake rollers	Cutting too small — it shifts and jams mechanisms	Recommended
Keps Nuts	Structural frame, non-moving joints where easy removal is needed	Using on moving joints — work loose under vibration	Optional
Standoffs	Spacing components, building custom brackets	Over-tightening into plastic — strips the threads	Recommended
Pneumatic Fittings	Reservoir-to-solenoid-to-cylinder connections	Hand-tight only — always use thread tape on NPT fittings	Critical

💻 Programming

📡 Pre-Competition Code Checklist

Git commit: “Competition build — [date]”

Tag the commit so you can revert if needed

Critical

Autonomous selector tested — all routes run correctly

Test every routine, not just the main one

Critical

Auton consistency: 8/10 runs within target

Below 80% → downgrade to safer routine

Critical

Motor port assignments match physical robot

One wrong port number breaks auton entirely

Critical

Driver control tested by actual driver — 2+ full matches

Engineer approval ≠ driver approval

Important

Battery level logged to Brain screen

Driver needs live battery % during match

Nice to Have

🖥️

Setup: VS Code + PROS

Full environment setup

🔬

PID Diagnostics

Symptom → diagnosis → fix

📍

Odometry Setup

Position tracking with EZ Template

🌐

Custom Brain Screen

Live match dashboard

💾

Git & Version Control

Never lose your auton again

📊

Data Logging

Log to SD card, graph in Excel

⚡

Exit Conditions

Chain movements, save 1–2 s per auton

📄

Organizing Code

Split files, headers, extern

⚙️

Finite State Machine

Clean mechanism logic

⚡

Battery Management

Rotation protocol, competition prep

🔄 CAD & Onshape

CAD is not optional for a competitive engineer. Top teams build the drivetrain in Onshape before touching metal — correct shaft lengths, no interference, verified gear ratios, notebook screenshots from the model. Building without CAD means rebuilding at competition.

Onshape Progression

💻

Onshape Setup

Account, VEX library, interface

🚗

First Drivetrain in CAD

Shafts, bearings, wheels, verify

⚙️

Mechanism Concept Sprint

3 concepts, tradeoff matrix, select

🔧

CAD to Build Handoff

BOM, screw plan, notebook evidence

✂️

Custom Parts & Fabrication

DXF, X-Carve, Delrin, polycarbonate

🚀 Learning Path — Where Are You?

● Beginner: Getting Started track

● Intermediate: Programming + CAD tracks

● Advanced: Systems + Diagnostics tracks

🔄 CAD / Onshape

1 Onshape Setup for Spartan Design 2 First Drivetrain in Onshape 3 Mechanism Concept Sprint 4 CAD to Build Handoff 5 Custom Parts & Fabrication

🚀 Programming — Beginner

1 Laptop Setup Guide 2 Setup: VS Code + PROS + EZ 3 Blocks → Text Code 4 First 30 Minutes in VS Code 5 Clawbot Training Platform 6 Brain Download & Auton Selector

⚙ Programming — Intermediate

1 Level Up: Advanced Text Coding 2 Advanced Robot Programming 3 PID Diagnostics & Tuning 4 Wiring & ESD Protection 5 Git & Version Control 6 Naming Conventions

🏆 Programming — Advanced

1 Organizing Code Across Files 2 Concurrent Actions (PROS Tasks) 3 Exit Conditions & Chained Moves 4 Odometry & Positioning 5 Finite State Machine 6 Data Logging to SD Card

🔬 Autonomous Consistency Tracker

Log every autonomous run. You need 8 of 10 within target before you can call it competition-ready.

Routine Name

Target (e.g. 36-in ±2)

⚡ Advanced: Quick-Swap Motor Mounting

🔧 What This Is

› Remove the standard motor cap screws
› Hold motors with zip ties or rubber bands instead
› Designed to swap a motor in seconds, not minutes

⚡ Why Teams Do This

› Match windows are 3–5 min — every second counts
› Cap screws take 4–6 min to swap a burned motor
› Quick-swap cuts that to under 60 s when practiced

🔧 How It’s Done

› Zip ties — primary hold through motor mount holes
› Rubber bands — secondary layer for quick release
› Motor must be snug with zero axial play when loaded
› Secure the cable separately

⚖ Tradeoffs

› Faster swaps vs slightly less rigidity under hard load
› Zip ties can shift if not tensioned correctly
› Requires dedicated practice — not intuitive at first

🚫 When NOT to Use This

×Beginner teams — learn standard mounting first.

×Untested robots — never on a motor position with under 30 min full-load run time.

×High-vibration positions — flywheels and launcher arms need cap screws.

💡

Pro Tip: Before every competition, run the robot at full load for 5 min with quick-swap mounts in place. If a motor shifts even slightly, re-tension before you queue.

📝 Practice Build Log

Log what changed each session — 2 minutes now saves hours at competition when tracing a failure.

What did you change or build today?

Test result (with target)

Outcome

You are the Engineer