FIRST
Banshee

Image of robot for FIRST Robotics Competiton

Banshee is 8033's robot for the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition, Crescendo.


Summary

Banshee is the third robot I worked on during my time on FRC 8033, Highlander Robotics. I led its design as team captain. This included integration and fine details, but also our overall workflow including prototyping, game strategy, and integration.

This robot was designed around simplicity and robustness, playing into the design standards I created to make learning CAD easier for new members on 8033. For example, the whole robot only uses 4 different stock types (1/8 aluminum, 1/4 aluminum, 1/4 polycarbonate, and 1/4 HDPE). It was also designed using a top-down approach where the overarching dimensions were driven by a master sketch, helping to take the guesswork out of designing multiple subsystems in parallel.

Banshee was designed in Onshape and built in around 5 weeks by our team. It placed #9 in California by Expected Points Added, an advanced metric, and finished in the top 16 worldwide at the FIRST Championship (where I also drove it) as a division finalist alliance captain.

At Chezy Champs 2024, an offseason competition, we mounted an insta360 to the robot frame and got this footage. Skip to 13:30 to see the match start.



Design Conceptualization

Our design process starts with laser-cut prototypes, transitioning into a side-profile "master sketch" and then low-detail block CAD, which informed the design of the final subsystems.



Side profile sketch of robot Block CAD of robot CAD model of robot


For more information on our prototyping process, or the design of Banshee's subsystems, check out my presentation at the Western Region Robotics Forum or my technical writeup on Banshee's design .

Additionally, if you are interested in other FRC-related design work, check out my technical binders for the two CADathon competitions I won: DDS Winter CADathon 2023 and WCP CADathon 2024 .