Wild Ride at FiT San Antonio District Event
Hopes were high going into this past weekend but reality easily exceeded expectations. FRC 1477 Texas Torque went undefeated over the two days of competition, finishing with a record of Continue Reading →
Coronavirus Masks and Intubation Box: Update 4/6/20
As the coronavirus epidemic continues, medical staff around the world have been scrambling to find adequate protection equipment to prevent the further spread of the virus. We have been working hard to do our part to help our community during this pandemic alongside several robotics teams including team 118 Robonauts and team Robowranglers on several projects.
We are very thankful for the support that we’ve received from our community including the Conroe Courier and ABC13. Below is the link to the article from the Conroe Courier:
Although it has just been a few days, we have continued to make substantial progress on our projects. Our lead mentor, Mr. Rippetoe has created a modified design of the Biased Tape Guide that has been very popular on Facebook, especially in the Million Mask Challenge. This modified design has been sent across the country to hundreds of sewing group.
We have also been working with other robotics teams and have provided over 150 3D printed face shields to medical facilities and currently are in the process of making another 300 of these shields. Since these shields are reusable and can be used for hours rather than weeks, the demand for these face shields continues to increase. We hope that as the design for the shields are finalized, we can continue to send these shields across the country.
We have also been working on designing an intubation box for the staff at Conroe Regional Medical Center. After cutting the parts for the preliminary design on Saturday, the box was put together yesterday. We’ve received feedback on the box and once the necessary modifications have been completed, we plan to make eight of these boxes for their facility.
If you’d like to help us in our efforts towards our goal of creating 10,000 face shields, we would appreciate donations to the Go Fund Me link below or to the Pay Pal link below.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/first-teams-for-ppe-face-shields
Robotics Teams Rise to the Challenge
Medical personnel and facilities across the country are running low on personal proection equipment, such as face shields and surgical masks. We were contact by local medical professionals about designing and providing a 3D printed face shield. Here is the current 1477 design.
Demand is starting to surge locally. Each masks costs about $2.50. We are also working with FRC Teams 118 (Robonauts) and 148 (Robowranglers) as they also have designs. Those versions have no 3D printed parts but require a water jet or laser cutter.
Mr. Rip has also been contacted by former students (one pictured above) working in the medical field requesting shipments of the 1477 Face Shield. The cost of ten shields plus shipping is approximately $30.
We are currently working with VEX Robotics in Greenville, Texas to get the 148 design waterjet cut by the thousands and i-SOLIDS in Tomball, Texas to help print parts for 1477 version so we can keep up with demand.
If you would like to help, please consider donating using the button below. The money will be used to purchase filament and plastic sheets to make face shields. If the crisis passes and we have funds remaining, those will be used to purchase a 3D printer and filament for the team.
We are looking for other ways to help the local medical community. We know there is demand for N95 filters and surgical masks.
Passing of Matthew (Rev) St. Laurent
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Matthew St. Laurent on March 2. He was a member of Texas Torque for four years until he graduated last spring. He was a freshman at the Colorado School of Mines. He is one of a handful of students who made a tremendous impact on Texas Torque. As a junior, he trained a large group of team members to use SolidWorks to design our robots. For his Eagle Scout project, he organized the building of the workbenches we use in our robotics lab. As a senior, he was a fantastic Build Lead and helped us build an extremely competitive robot. He will be deeply missed by his friends and family here at Texas Torque. Rev’s memorial service shall be held at Lord Of Life Lutheran Church this Thursday at 11 am. The viewing will begin at 10 am. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that LEGO kits be brought in to be donated in his LEGOcy. They can either be brought to the memorial service or dropped off at the Robotics Lab at College Park High School to a Texas Torque member between the hours of 9-3 until Thursday.
Please keep Rev’s family in your thoughts as they work through this extremely difficult time.
If you are ever struggling, please talk about it with a trusted family member or friend. Please seek assistance. Don’t suffer silently.
If you are contemplating suicide, call the suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text The Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
If you have any questions about Rev’s funeral, email us at [email protected]
Lord of Life Lutheran Church
Address: 3801 S Panther Creek Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77381
Rev’s LEGOcy Drive
Address for drop off: 3701 College Park Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77384
Big Win at Dripping Springs Competition!
Week 1 District Dripping Springs Competition was a huge success! Texas Torque competed alongside 32 other teams at the event and ended up in Rank 2 with a record of 16-2-0. During Alliance selections, they had the privilege of being first pick for the #1 ranked team, 3847 Spectrum. It was then decided to invite 3240 Team Orion to join the alliance, who graciously accepted the offer. After intense rounds in quarter and semi-finals, Texas Torque, Spectrum, and Team Orion faced 624 CRyptonite, 4610 BearTecs, and 6155 ElektraBots in Finals, and ended up coming out on top. After winning the competition, Texas Torque was honored with winning the District Chairman’s award for their remarkable work in Outreach. This award tied them with team 2468 as the #1 ranked team in Texas. Next stop: Fort Worth!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible!
See Texas Torque’s Chairman’s video here:
See Texas Torque’s Dripping Springs recap video here:
FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff 2020: INFINITE RECHARGE
On Saturday, January 4, Texas Torque hosted one of the kickoff events of the Houston area for the new 2020 season. Teams viewed a live kickoff show, where they were introduced to the new game manual and field set-up. They also received a speech from the new FIRST president, Lawrence Cohen.
The following video released by FIRST explains this year’s challenge:
Following the kickoff, members of Texas Torque reviewed the new game manual. Current students, mentors, and alumni all worked together as a team to create a vast array of innovative ideas and strategies for this year’s FRC game—Infinite Recharge.
We look forward to the new season, and wish all teams the best of luck!
Bedding Sets Donated to Angel Reach!
On November 14, members from the Texas Torque team delivered over twenty bedding sets to Angel Reach, a non-profit organization that helps young adults transition out of the foster care system. These bedding sets were generously donated from FRC teams attending the 2019 Remix on October 26th, 2019.
Thank you to all contributors for supporting this great cause!