FIRST Robotics Competition
Who Is 1640?
Paul Sabatino, a physics teacher at Downingtown East High School, formed FRC Team 1640 with 12 students in 2005. Mr. Sabatino coached FRC Team 104 in the West Chester School District before joining the Downingtown East faculty. Sab-BOT-age is the team’s tag, which honors Paul Sabatino’s important contributions.
The team had to leave the Downingtown Area School District’s umbrella in 2011 and form Downingtown Area Robotics, Inc. (DAR). The FRC 1640 team currently consists of 35 students from across Chester County, as well as more than a dozen mentors.
Though DAR has grown to include a FIRST Tech Challenge team and holds two FIRST LEGO League events each year, FRC 1640 remains the foundation of the organization. The FIRST Mid-Atlantic (previously Mid-Atlantic Robotics) District is where FRC 1640 competes at 260 Exton Square Pkwy, Exton, PA 19341.
FIRST Robotics Competition
The FIRST® Robotics Competition blends the thrill of competition with the challenges of science and technology. Students compete for awards by designing, building, and programming industrial-size robots while also developing a team identity, raising funds, honing teamwork skills, and promoting STEM respect and appreciation in the community.
Trained mentors donate their time and experience to help each team. It’s the nearest a student can come to real-world engineering. In addition, high school students have access to limited-time scholarship opportunities from colleges, universities, and technical schools.
1640 is achieving its mission goals of increasing the number of young people involved in STEM – and that their enthusiasm extends beyond their involvement in the program to their educational and career choices.
In addition to improving their STEM skills, FIRST participants learn teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills, which will help them succeed in school and in the future workforce.
Interested? Why Join?
1640 is not an FRC team affiliated with a school. We welcome students from all over Chester County, PA.
We are a mixed-gender team that does mixed-gender jobs. Girls and boys have always shared leadership positions within the squad. The team’s mentor group is no exception. Merit and drive/commitment are used to assess progression.
Technology – 1640 spent eight years creating swerve control, which enables all four robot drive wheels to be driven and steered independently. Technically demanding, this provides us with unrivaled agility as well as excellent traction.
Students 14-18
CAD/CAM – Computer aided design (via SolidWorks) and Computer aided manufacturing.
Welding – Aluminum via MIG & steel. Our last nine robot chassis have been student welded (aluminum).
Composite Materials – Our last seven robots have utilized carbon fiber and E-glass based composites. All made in-house.
Machining
Polymer molding
Polymer forming – via heat table and vacuum-forming.
3-D Printing
Networking
Teamwork
Leadership
Networking
Innovation
Our Mentors
- Clem McKown – Design
- Gary Deaver – Mechanical, Design, Scoring Team Adviser, Assembly Lead Mentor
- Larry Dodds – Lead Mentor
- Scott Featherman – Electrical Lead Mentor, Control Team
- Faith McKown – Logistics Lead Mentor, Field Construction, Flex Team Adviser
- John Weissman – Media Adviser, Drive Training
- Paul Klufas – Media And Programming
- Sanjai Bashyam – Design and Mechanical
- Bryan Schwenk – Scouting and Media
Our Robots
Management of Robots
CAD- Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or workstations) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design.[1]: 3 This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve communications through documentation, and to create a database for manufacturing.[1]: 4 Designs made through CAD software help protect products and inventions when used in patent applications. CAD output is often in the form of electronic files for print, machining, or other manufacturing operations. The terms computer-aided drafting (CAD) and computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) are also used.[2] (Wikipedia)
Programming- Computer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks.[1][2] It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of procedures, by writing code in one or more programming languages. Programmers typically use high-level programming languages that are more easily intelligible to humans than machine code, which is directly executed by the central processing unit. Proficient programming usually requires expertise in several different subjects, including knowledge of the application domain, details of programming languages and generic code libraries, specialized algorithms, and formal logic. (Wikipedia)
Construction- Construction is a general term meaning the art and science of forming objects, systems, or organizations.[1] It comes from the Latin word constructio (from com- “together” and struere “to pile up”) and Old French construction.[2] To ‘construct’ is a verb: the act of building, and the noun is construction: how something is built or the nature of its structure. (Wikipedia)
Drive Team- The drive sub-team is responsible for remotely controlling the robot during competitions and other events. There are five positions on the drive team: The two drivers are the students responsible for actually controlling the robot. (FRC team 102)
Pit Crew- Often teams will assign a group of students or mentors to be the Pit Crew, and they will be responsible to fix the robot if it gets damaged during the competition. (First Wiki)
Marketing- Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Scouting-