1/16/16 Robot Update

Worked on attaching wheels to frame

2/10/15 Season Update - About Yay High

Joe Martin '15 gives us another update on the season so far.

1/22/15 Season Update

Joe Martin '15 gives us an update on the season so far.

FIRST Impressions

Team 1168 is excited for the 2015 FRC: Recycle Rush! Check out the game animation below and some of our team members' FIRST Impressions.

Here are the thoughts of some of our team members.

Virginia Tech ChumpCar Project

Mankowski ‘16, 11/14/2014

Malvern Robotics has teamed up with Virginia Tech for the upcoming ChumpCar Races in 2015. The ChumpCar competition is based on the idea of building the best car for the least amount of money. Race lengths vary from 7 to 36 hours, so the car must be efficient and durable. Malvern has been tasked with designing an active spoiler for Virginia Tech’s ChumpCar. This will be mounted onto the back of the car and be able to change position based on the speed of the car in order to maximize the downward force on the car, which will increase its grip on the road. Malvern Prep students have already held meetings with Virginia Tech, and are collaborating together to take part in the ChumpCar program.

More information about the ChumpCar World Series can be found at http://www.chumpcar.com/

The Birth of the Botcave

Joe Martin  15'

Before

This is the space our team was given last year for storage and small projects. As you can see, it is not a place that you can perform a full build season, working from 3:30 to 7:00 every night. We were very fortunate to have been given this spot but we knew it could be utilized for so much more if we could clean it up and make a few renovations. Thankfully, Mr. Joe D'Ascenzo volunteered to help up fix up the space.

After

A few work benches, some paint, and electric work later the space is almost unrecognizable! The space was transformed from a largely underutilized basement to one of the most functional spaces on campus to pursue this year's school theme: creation. The next step was for us to move in our tools, materials and robot.

As you can see now, the spot is filled almost to the max. And it is still missing the biggest part, our 18 members. The spot is now very lived in and occupied the concern still remains as whether or not we could hold a full scale build season in here. Adjacent to this room is another space that looks very similar to our before picture. Our goal is to raise the funds needed to fix up that space so that we can, without a doubt, hold a full build season in our new space.

Project Management

Joe Martin '15
With a new space on campus and a new sponsorship from Exelon, our team expanded our horizons to take on a variety of different tasks. We have the Chump car racer with Virginia Tech, we want to help our fellow middle school robotics team, and we want to partner with more sponsors.

All these ideas are excellent when they are enacted and well run but our team had one big problem, planning.

Mr. Gus Cicala is a Malvern alum who is an expert on all things that have to do with making a company run efficiently. He has written a book on how to use Microsoft Project, which is a project management software that gives any project manager the tools to be successful.

This makes Mr. Cicala the perfect guy for the job when it comes to helping us get organized. Mr. Cicala volunteers around 3 hours of his personal time close to 3 times a month. Since our first meeting, our team has finished one task, making good progress on the Chump Car Racer, and is holding a sponsorship night for all our past members and sponsors. 

There is no doubt in my mind as a 4 year member of the club that this year has the potential to be our most successful year under Mr. Cicala's guidance. Because of him, we are more focused, confident, and in control then ever before and we look forward to a great future.