In a recent thread @antichamber shared his challenge in cleaning up his workspace after a long season. Unfortunately, the thread got a little off track, so I wanted to start fresh and ask the community to maybe share some photos, ideas, etc. on how they best organize and equip for efficient and productive work. I know this will vary widely between school and home based environments but I think both are helpful to hear about. Pegboard for metal is something I hear a lot (and what we do at home).
While we wait to get the new game and field elements (ahem… RobotMesh and Vex…), seems like a great time to prep for the new season, and see what can be done.
I will share some photos from our space when I get home, but am on an airplane right now so it will have to wait a couple days.
Here’s the VEX Team Virus lab space. About 35’ x 35’, two IQ fields and bin storage for all IQ parts, one EDR field (on a riser with storage beneath), parts bins and a metal hanging rack for EDR metal, workbenches for repair and testing, and 4 computer workstations. There are only 7 tables for teams to work at, so IQ meets on different nights/times than EDR, and our U-team like to work on Saturdays. We have access to a regular classroom across the hall if we need sit-down meeting space.
I don’t have any pictures right now, but we have one room that just barely fits the VEX field and another room about 2/3 the size of the first one. I wish we had a nicer place to work. The white floor, walls, and ceiling also get to me a lot. It makes it very hard to focus.
I found (for me at least) you should not work on the floor; it hurts. Work on a table or something; it kind of forces you to keep stuff that your constantly using a bit better organised. That’s my tip, whether it works or not
@kmmohn Nice lab! I really like how your field is elevated to provide storage underneath. Also I like your pegboard for organizing the metal. Could I get a close up of the pegboard so I can try to replicate?
Here’s a closeup. The pegboard measures about 3’ x 6’. The frame is made of some 80/20 t-slot and caster wheels that my company donated. Pegboard hooks are 4" long I found on ebay sold by the 100. They have to be the “smaller diameter” wire hooks to fit the vex metal. The hooks are tied to the pegboard with wire so they won’t fall out. For each type of part, there are labeled hooks as follows: 35, 31-34, 30, 26-29, etc. and we encourage cutting parts by 5’s. Steel is on the front, aluminum on the back, which is kind of a pain but it saves space.
80/20 discounts 40% for robotics teams…talk to your local distributor, or call ours: AutoCraft, Mike Carrel, 810-794-8160. Everything drop-ships from indiana, so it doesn’t really matter who you order from.
