Engineering Notebook Binder CAD
Task: CAD an engineering notebook binder that is to be custom made
We want to utilize our new CNC as best as we possibly can. Since we plan to CNC the second version...
Welcome to Iron Reign at Dallas ISD's Science and Engineering Magnet
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Code Changes At STEM Expo
Task: Use Vuforia To Detect Skystones And Tune Ticks Per Meter
This Saturday, we had the privilege of being a vendor at the Annual DISD STEM Expo. While this...
Growing Pains and Reigns
Task: Expand the Iron Reign Robotics Team
One of our biggest challenges this year was learning to adapt our robotics program to the large influx of new recruits. Last year, most of us...
UME Qualifier
Task: Compete at the UME Preparatory Academy Qualifier
A solid month or so after our first qualifier, Iron Reign walked through the doors to...
Match Play at UME prep. Qualifier
Task: Compete in Qualification and Finals matches
Today Iron Reign competed at our second qualifier at UME Preparatory Academy with TomBot which...
Finger Gripper Morph Chart
Task: Create a morph chart to analyze all our 3-finger gripper versions so far in this season.
Just like with our gripper designs, we've also gone through a number of...
Drive Practice 1/6
Task: Practice driving with new code
Today we worked on driving the robot with new presets. Over the weekend, our coders worked on new presets to speed up our cycling time....
Testing Two Drivers
Task: Practice driving with two drivers
Today we started testing out our new two controller setup. The goal is to have one driver control just the base, and have the other driver...
STEM Expo Preparation
Task: Plan for the DISD STEM Expo
Next week, a week after...
Calculating Torque at the Turn-table
Task: Analyze torque at the turn-table and how it affects our choice of motor sets
We want to know if we are using the best possible motor set on our turntable....
Calculating Torque at the Drive-Train
Task: Calculate torque at the drive-train and analyze our choice of motors
During drive-testing, one issue we noticed was that our robot was not as fast as could...
Modeling TomBot Articulations
Task: Model TomBot's Articulations in Fusion360
Modeling articulations is important for many reasons. The first of which is being able to effectively strategize. Having an idea of how the robot can...
Logarithmic Spiral Update
Task: Update the Logarithmic Spiral
As the design and build of the robot progresses, many components must be updated to be compatible with the current design. The logarithmic spiral, which was used...
Calculating Torque at the Elbow
Task: Design an equation to model the torque at the elbow linearly
In order to maximize our robot performance, we need to be able to use motors and gears with the...
Control Mapping v2
Task: Map out the new control scheme
As we progressively make our robot more autonomous when it comes to repeated tasks, it's time to map these driver enhancements. Since...
FIRST in Texas Grants
Task: Detail the FIRST in Texas Grants and understand how it will improve our business plan
It's the last day of the decade! With a new decade, comes new money, and similar to...
Assembling the Turntable Bevel Gears for a REV Motor
Task: Assemble the bevel gears to the turntable to fit a rev motor
Today we assembled a second version of our bevel gear assembly for...
Sliding Foundation Grabber
Task: Design and create a more efficient and compact foundation grabber
Moving the foundation throughout a match is an important part of the overall gameplay of a...
Testing Friction Coefficient
Task: Measure the coefficient of friction of our potential gripper materials
We want to measure various constants of materials on our robot. These materials serve to improve the grip on our gripper....
Materials Test Planning
Task: Create a system to test our materials to better understand their grip potential
Here at Iron Reign, we're used to using off-the-shelf materials for our robot. For this season,...
Finger Gripper Version 4 CAD
Task:
On this minor update to our flat gripper design a dropper for the latest capstone was added. Our capstone design (which can be seen here: Read More
Turret IMU Code
Task: Code some driver enhancements for the turret
With the return of the king(Abhi - an alumni of our team) we were able to make some code changes, mainly...
Third Annual Townview Tournament a Success!
Thank you to all our volunteers!
Thank you to all the volunteers that gave up their Saturday to contribute to the FTC community in North Texas. Because...
Townview Qualifier 2019 - The Day Of
Task: Run the Townview Tournament
On Saturday, December 15, Iron Reign hosted 31...
Townview Qualifier 2019 - Set Up
Task: Prepare Townview for the upcoming qualifier
Tomorrow, December 14th, Iron Reign will be hosting the 2019 Townview Qualifier. 31 teams will be...
Future TomBot Articulations
Task: Plan out potential robot articulations to improve game strategy
Getting back from the tournament, we were able to immediately start to think about what was the big problems and possible improvements to the articulations of...
Capstone Iterations
Task: Go over all 3 of our capstone iterations
So far, we have experimented with 3 capstone models. While we do not intend to use all 3 of these models, they allowed us to...
Allen Qualifier Post Mortem
Task: Plan for upcoming tournaments
So our Allen qualifier was a success! Iron Reign won the Inspire Award, which we are so honored to have been given. We did a...
Short-term Post-Mortem Talks
Task: Begin analyzing our performance at the Allen qualifier
It’s officially been a week since our first qualifier at Allen. Although we succeeded in qualifying there’s still...
Capstone Version 3
Task: Design a minimalistic castone that can be deployed by the stone gripper
This version of our capstone is to be 3D modeled and printed as well as be as compact...
Bill of Materials
Task: Create a list of parts needed for the new robot
To determine all the materials we need for the new robot, we started a Bill of Materials. To...
Creating a Robot Handle
Task: Create a handle for the robot to make it more inspection-worthy
The robot handle is a revolutionary piece of precision engineering, designed to allow the robot to lifted by a carbon-based linear...
Finger Gripper Version 3 CAD
Task: Design a more comapct and efficient gripper design
This version of the finger gripper is going to be mostly custom made to make it as simple and as...
SEM Robotics Tournament
Qualifying Tournament needs Volunteers!
Iron Reign (team 6832), The School of Science and Engineering and the Dallas ISD STEM Department are happy to announce that we are hosting our...
Allen Qualifier Post Mortem - Code
Task: Analyze our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for our code at the Allen Qualifier
Fresh off our first qualifier at the Allen STEAM Center, we decided to begin...
Adding to TomBot model
Task: Update the current robot model
Prior to updating the model, the model purely consisted of the chassis and the primitive turntable. Since then, both the turntable and chassis have been updated to...
Finger Gripper Version 2
Task: Design a swivel and add ninjaflex parts to improve the finger gripper
From what we learned at the Allen Qualifier the gripper needs some major improvements before it...
Swivel Mount
Task: Design a swivel mount to improve the degrees of freedom on the gripper
After the recent competition, we realized that a good way to increase precision would be to add, of...
Mentoring FTC Team 6964 Igutech
Task: Respond to a request for outreach help from Team 6964
Recently, Iron Reign recieved a request for advice on how we run our outreach events from FTC Team 6964...
Post-Qualifier Code Debugging
Task: Debug code after the Allen Qualifier
After the qualifier, along with articulation plans, we had a long list of bugs in the code that needed to be sorted out. Most of them were a direct...
Drive Issues at Allen Qualifier
Task: Identify points of improvement after driving at Allen
While using our untested code and inexperienced drivers at the Allen STEAM Center this weekend, we encountered many...
Build Post-Mortem
Task: Begin analyzing long-term build improvements
Moving on from the Allen qualifier, there are a couple issues we need to fix. Aside from the usual wear and tear a robot experiences in it’s...
Inspire at Allen
This weekend, SEM sent four teams to the first qualifying tournament of the FIRST Tech Challenge 2019-2020 season. Iron Reign (6832) was a finalist in robot game and won the top award (Inspire) and has advanced...
Allen Qualifier
Task: Compete at the N. TX Allen STEAM Center Qualifier
Right off of a subpar performance at the Woodrow Wilson Scrimmage, Iron Reign walked on...
Match Play at Allen Qualifier
Task: Compete in Qualification Matches and maybe some Playoffs
Today was our first qualifier at the Allen STEAM Center and we were able to...
Night Before Competition Build
Task: Transform a mass of metal into a functional something in the span of one night in time for the qualifier tomorrow.
Twas the night before competition and the robot...
Last Minute Code Changes
Task: Debug some last-minute code to be ready for our first qualifier of the season
This article may seem a bit rushed, but that's because it is - for good reason. Tonight is the night...
Morph Chart
Task: Create a morph chart to analyze all our designs so far in this season.
Iron Reign has seen several iterations of several subsystems over this past build season....
Coding TomBot
Task: Use existing code from the code base to program TomBot
To code TomBot, we decided to use the codebase from Frankendroid, as its...
Linear Slides on TomBot
Task: Mount linear slides to the robot.
Today we focused on getting the arm and linear slide ready to be powered up. Our first task was to move down one of...
Woodrow Scrimmage
Task: Compete and work on TomBot at the scrimmage at Woodrow HS.
This Saturday Iron Reign attended a scrimmage at Woodrow High...
Presenting Our Engineering Notebook
Task: Share with other teams how Iron Reign creates its engineering notebook
This weekend Iron Reign attended the Woodrow Wilson Scrimmage....
Logarithmic Spiral Design
Task: Design a system that could linearly reduce torque.
Since last season, we have conducted a significant amount of experimentation on our elbow and slide mechanism. We are using a similar design because we...
Responding to Girl Scouts of Desert Southwest
Task: Respond to an email about the MXP to the local Idaho STEM director of Girl Scouts.
Today, Iron...
Mounting the Slip Ring
Task: Mount a slip ring onto TomBot's chassis
On our robot we have a turntable in order to increase the degree of precision at which we can maneuver skystones. We have one REV...
CNC Turntable Mounts
Task: Model and CNC way to mount the turntable to the chassis
Today we worked on creating a 3d model for a CNC cut part to mount the turntable to the chassis. Since...
Gripper Iterations Summary
Task: Go over our 9 gripper iterations
This season, we experimented with 9 gripper models - both for our robot in three days project and for our competition bot. While we do...
3-Fingered Gripper
Task: 3D Model and build an 8th gripper design
As our 8th gripper design we are trying out a compact design known as the 3-fingered gripper. This was 3-D modeled before being built...
Turn-table Assembly
Task: Finish assembling the turn-table
During today’s meeting, we were able to complete the mounting of the pinion motor assembly to the turntable. This included drilling out holes and routing out a...
Stub Gripper
Task: Building gripper iteration #7
As our 8th gripper design we modeled a stub gripper, inspired by 7129’s Ri30H. Several of our previous grippers were designed iwth the intention of...
Transition from Expansion Hub to Control Hub
Task: Discuss the transition from using the Expansion Hub to using the Control Hub
Over the past month we have used the control hub our...
Round Chassis Assembly
Task: Attatch Omni wheels to Round Chassis
Today we finished assembling the round chassis for our circle robot, TomBot. The most important system we added was the omni wheels to...
Updating TomBot's model
Task: Update the model to plan TomBot's build
With our first qualifier being less than a month away, Iron Reign embarked on an ambitious project to create...
Ordering a Slip Ring
Task: Order a slip ring for the turn table
In order to spin the turntable on TomBot we need to use a motor with a specific gear to make it spin and...
Hedrick Scrimmage - Code
Task: Discuss what went and what needs improvement in our code
Taking part in the annual Hedrick Scrimmage, we got to test our Robot In 24 Hours, FrankenDroid. Specifically, since...
TomBot Suspension
Task: Design a suspension for TomBot
We've decided to design a suspension for our circular chassis for one reason. Under the neutral bridge, there is a 15mm lip...
Coding Before Scrimmage
Task: Finish the temporary auto and work with drivers for teleop
Tonight, the night before the scrimmage, We worked on making the depositing of the stone and parking of the robot more reliable. Or as reliable as possible, as we are planning to use...
First Season Scrimmage at Hedrick MS
Task: Compete and observe important things needed to continue the build of circle robot and for future competitions.
This...
Driving at the Hedrick Scrimmage
Task: Figure out what went wrong at the scrimmage
We didn't do too well in teleop driving at the Hedrick Scrimmage, with our max stone deposit being 2...
Control Mapping
Task: Map and test controls
With the Hedrick Middle School scrimmage being a day away, the robot needs to be in drive testing phase. So, we started out...
Investing in a CNC Router
Task: Invest in a CNC router using our grants from the previous season.
Last year was a very successful season for Iron Reign, financially speaking. We earned around $11,000 in...
Coding 10/19/19 (Putting meat on the skeleton)
Task: work on actually filling out the auto
As seen in the last post, the skeleton of the auto was done. Tonight...
Dr. Woodie Flowers, in Memoriam
Task:
As most people in the FIRST community know by now, Dr. Woodie Flowers passed away on October 11th. As a team...
TomBot Progress
Task: Start assembling the TomBot chassis
Today we made some progress on our round robot. We moved the rev rails and big wheels on the Bigwheel chassis to be able to...
Auto Path 1
Task: Lay out our robot's path for autonomous
To kick off our autonomous programming, Iron Reign created our first version autonomous path plan. We begin, like all...
Discuss the Impact of Our Robot in 2 Days Reveal Video
Task: Analyze the viewer statistics of our Robot in 2 Days Reveal Video
...
Beginning Auto Stone
Task: Design an intake for the stones based on wheels
Initial Design: Rolling IntakeWe've been trying to get our start on autonomous...
FrankenDriod - TPM Calibration
Task: Calibrate FrankenDriod's Ticks Per Meter in preperation of programming autonomous
Today we worked on the calibration of FrankenDriod's TPM. This is used to accurately and percisely move during...
Autonomous and TomBot Robot
Task: Autonomous coding and TomBot progress
DISD students have been blessed with a long weekend, which we plan to take full advantage of as our first scrimmage...
Gripper Testing
Task: Test block gripper
Here is us testing the gripper we designed to pick up the blocks in this years SkyStone challenge. This gripper combines the Pivoting Accelerated User-Friendly Locker,...
Presenting to Representative Colin Allred's Office
Task: Meet with Representative Colin Allred's office to discuss FIRST robotics and STEM-based legislation
Today, we presented to Mr...
Preparing for the Meeting with Representative Colin Allred's Office
Task: Reach out to congressional representatives in our area to improve the implementation of STEM-based legislation
This summer, our team reached out to three congressional...
Fixing the Mechanum Chassis
Task: Fix the old mechanum chassis from last year
Tonight, I worked on fixing the Iron Star robot from last year, since its a viable option for replacement of...
Modeling Planetary Gears
Task: Modeling a planetary gearset for robot turntable
We decided on using a turntable on the robot to allow for maximum articulation...
Recruitment Update
Task: Plan for 30+ influx of team members
Just like last year, this year has been pretty successful recruitment-wise. We have had 24 total signups, up from -5 last year. In addition to our...
TomBot CAD
Task: Design a concept for a circular chassis
A challenge we face this year is running into other robots. Last year, it was possible to easily get around other robots; however,...
Skystone Gripper Version 2
Task: Design an Intake Wheel
Last season, we designed a ninjaflex gripper for Icarus, our World championship robot. This season, we are...
P.A.U.L
Task: Design a new intake system
After the endtwo day robot build, we had come up with two main gripper designs. One was consistent, however heavy...
Meeting Log
Task: Help the freshmen teams finish their code and continue the development of gripper designs.
This meeting we made substantial progress on designs...
New Recruits for the 2019-2020 Season
Task: Train the influx of new recruits
Test Driving New Robot
Task: Test the "Robot in 2 Days" robot
Today we were able to drive test our "robot in 2 days" robot. We used our robot from the previous...
Field Set-Up
Task: Clean our work space and set up the field
Today we started preparing for the first meeting with the new recruits. Some of the...
Robot in 2 Days Grippers Comparison
Task: Analyze all our grippers from the Robot in 2 Days challenge
During the making of our Ri2D we prototyped and...
Robot in 2 Days - Day Two
Task: Finish Robot in 2 Days
Since the reveal was released yesterday, Iron Reign embarked on a project to build a...
Ri2D Code
Task: Code a Basic TeleOp Code for the Ri2D bot using pre-existing classes and methods
As the Ri2D bot nears completion, the need for TeleOp code becomes apparent to actually make it move....
Parallel Gripper
Task: Protoype a parallel gripper
While there are many different solutions and gripper designs, one of the most common is the parallel gripper. The purpose of a parallel gripper is to grip objects,...
Mentoring Rookie Team Wattever
Task: Show team 16296 Wattever how we run our meets
During our time participating in the robot in 2 days challenge, rookie...
Rack and Pinion Gripper
Task: Build a gripper system for the 2019-2020 Skystone Challenge
The rack-and-pinion gripper system is one of the 4 gripper systems we built this weekend...
Robot in Two Days - Day One
Task: Build prototype subsystems that pick up the stone elements
This season Iron Reign decided...
Wheel Gripper
Task: Design an intake for the stones based on wheels
Initial Design: Rolling Intake 
The first idea we came up with for gripper designs during our Robot in 2 Days...
Aaron’s Super Cool Gripper That Works 100% Of The Time
Task: Prototyping a rolling gripper
During the 2 day robot challenge, one of the gripper designs that we built on the first day...
Modelling a Points System
Task: Model a points system for the Skystone Challenge
A couple hours ago, Iron Reign attended the reveal for the 2019-2020 FTC game - SKYSTONE. Since we intend to...
FTC Skystone Kickoff
Task: Attend the kickoff event
Today Iron Reign attended the FTC 2019-2020 season kickoff event at Williams High School. Team members and prospective...
2019-20 Recruitment
Task: Recruit new members for the 2019-20 season
Today we held an interest meeting at our campus - Townview Magnet Center. Over 30 people of varying grade...
RIP Big Wheel
Task: Tear down BigWheel and harvest parts
Big Wheel, Iron Reign’s first iteration of our Worlds competition robot Icarus, had been sitting outside in the tent for months and we needed parts...
Online Planning Session
Task: Brainstorm current and future plans on a google docs and try to switch to Trello
Tonight we set out to organize our thoughts and projects...
Fixing Mini-Mech
Task: Fix Mini-Mech in time for the Skystone reveal
In two weeks, Iron Reign is planning on building a robot in 2 days, based on the 2019-2020 Skystone Reveal Video. We've never really...
Sustainability Goals
Task: Plan to support at least 3 teams for the incoming Skystone season
One of the biggest challenges we will face this upcoming season is the fact that 6 of our members graduated just a month ago....
Letters to Congressional Representatives
Task: Reach out to congressional representatives in our area to improve the implementation of STEM-based legislation
This past year at the world championship, the founder of...
Mayor’s Back to School Fair
Task: Educate students at the Mayor’s Back to School Fair on robotics
Iron Reign was given...
SEM Nest Camp
Task: Introduce incoming freshmen to our robotics program
Iron Reign was given the opportunity by our school, The School...
Moonday
Task: Reach out to the community and present at Moonday
Iron Reign went to the Frontiers of Flight Museum again with the DPRG...
SuperMan Wheel Fix
Task: 3D model a fix for Superman using Fusion 360
During the Discovery Faire Icarus' Superman wheel broke as the gears were skipping, rendering most robot articulations useless. For reference, Icarus was our robot...
Discovery Faire at Central Library
Task: Teach students how to block program and 3D model at the Discovery Faire @ Central Library
On July 13th Iron Reign attended...
Discovery Faire at the Frontiers of Flight Museum Prep
Task: Prepare everything for the Discovery Faire next week
I(Jose) fixed the battery box and charged the robot phones and batteries so that we could charge Icarus before next Saturday....
Frontiers Of Flight Museum Outreach
Task: Motivate children in STEM fields at the Frontiers of Flight museum
Janavi teaching kids how to build EV3 Robots
...Leg Drive Prototype
Task: Prototype a Leg Drive for next year's (possible) stacking game
Although most teams go for a traditional chassis, a different type may be needed for next...
Meeting Log
Meeting Log June 08, 2019
Task: Prepare for the 2019-2020 Skystone season
Today kicked off our first meeting for the new Skystone...
DPRG RoboRama Competition
Task: Compete at the DPRG RoboRama and present Icarus
Ready and prepared, our two man team came to compete at the Annual Dallas Personal Robotics Group's RoboRama.
The...
DPRG RoboRama Prep
Task: Prepare for the DPRG RoboRama Competition
Tomorrow Iron Reign is to send out a team of two people to compete at the annual Dallas Personal Robotics Group (DPRG) RoboRama as well...
Discover Summer Fair
Task: Teach kids how to program and 3D-model at the Discover Summer Fair
This Saturday was the Discover Summer Fair organized...
Worlds Day 4
Task: Participate in Alliance Selection and attend the Award Ceremony
Today was the last of the 2019 FTC World Championship and...
Worlds Day 3
Task: Compete in even more qualification matches
Match 7(Q121) We won 292-280. With the elbow motors fixed we were ready for...
Worlds Day 2
Task: Compete in more qualification matches
Match 2(Q28)
We lost 340-280. We had a flawless auto this time and followed...
Worlds Day 1
Task: Set up our Worlds pit, complete inspection and judging, and compete in robot game matches
Presentation
Our presentation went...
Contact Us
E-Mail: ironreignrobotics@gmail.com