Should I rebuild?

I have a sandstorm, three arm type robot, that I am decent with. Should I rebuild to a razorbill type robot? We can usually get 9-10 scored risers in virtual.

I can’t attest to IQ but generally with a rebuild, you have to consider the amount of time that you are really willing to put into one vs the benefit that a new design will give you. Also when is your next competition (probably soon because we are late in the season) as that will greatly impact the amount of work that you will be able to get done. Also, you have to consider recoding and redoing autons. I’m not saying to not do a rebuild (I did 3 in tower takeover) but you just have to think about it a little. Side note one of the teams from our school (5956A) decided to do a rebuild 3 days before a comp and they kind of shot themselves in the foot. In short, the decision is up to you and your team so if your willing to put in the time then go for it.

1 Like

Can you send pictures of your robot? It would be helpful to assess build quality. And also, Can you explain exactly what you think you can do better with a new robot? For example, my team just recently rebuilt, and we had a list of reasons why we should rebuild. You also want to make sure you have time to do this. My team built a robot, programmed it, and practiced driving in a time span of about 3 weeks. You know your team better than anyone else, so you have to be the judge of how much time you think you need to complete the build. Generally with a rebuild, you want it to be cleaner, more efficient, and just overall better than your previous robot. This was the basic outline of our list of reasons that we had to rebuild:

  1. Speed. We needed more speed to keep up with the competition
  2. intakes. We wanted stationary intakes, and did not have the space
  3. Weight. Our robot used to be very heavy. It is now light.
  4. Hood. We wanted a longer hood and could not do that with our earlier robot.
2 Likes

Late season rebuilt is dangerous move. But it doesn’t mean it cannot be done. Your main constraint is schedule and time management.

3 Likes

It really comes down to how much time you can put in to it, like others have said. If you meet once a week for a few hours, I would not suggest rebuilding. If you can put in a few hours a day 4-5 days a week, rebuilding would probably be a good idea in this case because it could get you so many more points. You also have to code and learn to drive the new robot, so leave some time for that, because driver practice can make or break you at a competition.

2 Likes