Spicy Side Shields

By Jose

Task: Design and CAD/CAM some spicy side shields

In order to increase the spice factor for TomBot, we need to custom machine our own side plates out of aluminum using our CNC. The design is pretty simple, just a plate with our team number, but there are some other features such as the curved top. This keeps the side plates from being sharp and add some aesthetic to the design. Also, since the team number is to be put out of the aluminum, the circles inside the '8' need some strokes to keep them in place. To follow the font used these were at a set angle and thickness as seen above. The stroke for the '6' was also thickened to add some support as previous years' side shields have proven this stroke to be weak. Finally, there are holes on the top corners for the alliance markers. The idea for these is that a rectangle with both a blue circle and a red square is screwed to the top and is spun to show the color corresponding to the alliance we are in while the other color is hidden behind the side shield(of the spicy variety).

Next Steps:

With a CAM file of these (if not already obvious)spicy side shields already made we can immediately machine these on our CNC during our next meet as well as screw them onto TomBot. Since we have a circular chassis we will have to bend the aluminum, which shouldn't be too hard.