Written
The key feature of the Steel Hawk’s newest robot is its claw. At competitions, Redtail has a red powder coated claw that was cut by the Steel Hawk’s sponsor, Magellan Aerospace, who used the CAD file developed by the Steel Hawks. With the CAD file, the team was able to make and refine the claw though many trials and errors with the team’s new CNC machine. The team cut the claw from aluminum sheet metal themselves to test its functionality.
The robot was built in six weeks, and the team spent the first two weeks on planning strategy, the main targets of focus of the robot, and goals for the competition.
After, the team built prototypes and a drivetrain for the robot. The drivetrain is the main body of the robot and the team’s current drivetrain was influenced by a Robotics alumi, Ian Sun, who devoted his summer to teaching the Steels Hawks on the proper way to build a drivetrain. The shooter was first built prematurely, and through several weeks, the team was able to make a premature shooter from the materials they had and a shooter that was cut from aluminum sheet metal with the CNC machine.