High School Robotics Class Utilizes CAD and 3D Printing for Autonomous Robot Competition
Motherboards ,
Graphics Cards ,
Monitors ,
Case & Components
A good desktop can be used for multiple scenarios: gaming, livestreaming, video editing, and even designing autonomous robots! While we may not often hear about that last one, we visited a robotics team at Noble High School in Oklahoma to learn more about how students are using CAD and 3D printing to design and iterate autonomous robots that compete in Botball.
This year's challenge is Stack Attack. It's all about bringing order to a warehouse. They're designing and programming two fully autonomous robots that work together to move, sort, and organize materials completely on their own. All in just two minutes. No controllers, no human input, just code.
This year's challenge is Stack Attack. It's all about bringing order to a warehouse. They're designing and programming two fully autonomous robots that work together to move, sort, and organize materials completely on their own. All in just two minutes. No controllers, no human input, just code.
Roger Clement leads the robotics program at Noble with multiple Botball wins. The secret? Not being afraid of failure and failing repeatedly. They’re only successful because of the number of times that they fail. If they’re not failing, they’re not doing our job. They have to fail more than anyone in the world if they’re going to compete.
In the last couple of years, the game has shifted, where 3D printed parts are now allowed. This has been a game-changer for a lot of people because it opens up design-type classes that allow people to build parts that better meet the needs of the challenge.
In the last couple of years, the game has shifted, where 3D printed parts are now allowed. This has been a game-changer for a lot of people because it opens up design-type classes that allow people to build parts that better meet the needs of the challenge.
The Challenges
Mr. Clement has sourced multiple 3D printers for the students to use since 3D printers have gotten cheaper and much more affordable. Additionally, he obtains a SolidWorks license for the students to use and to give them an experience beyond the textbook. If something needs to be adjusted from four millimeters to six millimeters, the students can iterate quickly, especially when on a time crunch.
The bottleneck? The PCs available to them are slowing them down. If it takes them five extra hours to get the design out, maybe that doesn't get printed before the end of the day, and it costs them a full day.
The bottleneck? The PCs available to them are slowing them down. If it takes them five extra hours to get the design out, maybe that doesn't get printed before the end of the day, and it costs them a full day.
What this new PC means
To help the robotics team at Noble save time, MSI equipped the team with a new PC that the students built together.
We cooled an Intel Core Ultra 265K CPU with the MPG CORELIQUID P13 360 WHITE, paired with the PRO Z890-P WIFI, a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VENTUS 3X BLACK, and a SPATIUM M560 PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2, powered by an MPG A850GS PCIE5 power supply that’s encased in the MPG VELOX 300R AIRFLOW PZ WHITE.
No longer will the students need to occupy Mr. Clement’s main PC with this new, dedicated workstation. Rounding out the rest of the setup is the PRO MP275Q business monitor, the FORGE GK600 TKL WIRELESS SKY keyboard, the VERSA 300 W WHITE mouse, and the Agility GD30 mousepad.
We cooled an Intel Core Ultra 265K CPU with the MPG CORELIQUID P13 360 WHITE, paired with the PRO Z890-P WIFI, a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VENTUS 3X BLACK, and a SPATIUM M560 PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2, powered by an MPG A850GS PCIE5 power supply that’s encased in the MPG VELOX 300R AIRFLOW PZ WHITE.
No longer will the students need to occupy Mr. Clement’s main PC with this new, dedicated workstation. Rounding out the rest of the setup is the PRO MP275Q business monitor, the FORGE GK600 TKL WIRELESS SKY keyboard, the VERSA 300 W WHITE mouse, and the Agility GD30 mousepad.
Watch out the full story over on YouTube! https://youtu.be/27qfxBZoY2s?si=aBluAYKqmbZyTZKH
