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Navigate the intense 6-week build period from kickoff to bag day. Time management and rapid iteration are everything.
Build season is approximately 6 weeks of intense design, prototyping, building, and testing. It starts at Kickoff (early January) and ends when you ship your robot to your first competition.
⏱️ The Golden Timeline
Day 29: Robot should be "finished" (fully functional, all mechanisms working). This leaves ~2 weeks for driver practice, refinement, and preparing for competition. Remember: good drivers beat good robots.
💪 Embrace Setbacks
You'll always encounter delays and setbacks—that's normal and expected. Plan for them, work through them, ask for help, and communicate constantly with your team.
Kickoff is a weekend dedicated to brainstorming, game analysis, and strategic planning. This is where you set the direction for the entire season.
Before you design anything, understand the game inside and out:
🎯 Strategic Focus
Just because another team is doing something doesn't mean you should. Specialization is often necessary. Pick 2-3 high-value tasks and execute them flawlessly rather than attempting everything poorly.
For each task you choose to pursue, answer these questions:
Tank, Mecanum, or Swerve? Must be decided by Day 3 to stay on schedule.
Which 2-3 tasks will you specialize in? Low goal? High goal? Defense?
Divide into teams to prototype different mechanisms in parallel.
Create hand drawings of potential designs showing basic mechanism ideas with correct scale. These don't need to be CAD—simple sketches help communicate ideas quickly.
Start prototyping immediately. Build quick-and-dirty versions of mechanisms to test feasibility. Use cardboard, wood, or spare parts—speed matters more than polish at this stage.
Every team member should take the Rules Test and thoroughly understand the game manual. Knowing the rules prevents costly mistakes and reveals strategic opportunities.
📖 Pro Tip
Read the Q&A forum on the FIRST website. Teams ask clarifying questions about rules, and official answers can reveal strategic insights or prevent design mistakes.
Game analysis, strategic planning, and drivetrain selection. Start prototyping immediately.
Build and test rough prototypes of all major mechanisms. Fail fast, iterate rapidly. Finalize mechanism designs by Day 14.
Finalize CAD models and begin fabricating final parts. Order any remaining components. Start assembling drivetrain.
Assemble all mechanisms onto the robot. Wire electronics, install pneumatics, write initial code.
Robot is 'finished'—now refine, debug, and practice. This is the most critical period for success.
⚠️ Critical Deadline: Day 29
If you're still building major mechanisms after Day 29, you're behind. Prioritize getting a functional robot early over adding extra features late.
Build season is chaotic. Effective communication prevents duplicate work, missed deadlines, and confusion.
🤝 Team Culture
Build season is stressful. Support each other, celebrate small wins, and maintain a positive team culture. Burnout helps no one.
The faster you test, break, fix, and iterate, the better your robot will be. Don't be afraid of failure—embrace it as part of the process.
Run your mechanisms with actual game pieces in realistic scenarios. Find problems early when they're easier to fix.
Intentionally stress-test your robot. If it's going to break, better in the shop than during a match.
Get the robot drivable as soon as possible. Even basic driver practice is invaluable.
A skilled driver can compensate for robot limitations. An unskilled driver wastes a perfect robot.