This is the end of week three of the 2020 build season.
This year the Flaming Monkeys have a three person welding team. Three students new to welding have been getting lessons and lots of practice. Since this is week three, the team has to get good very fast to prepare for welding the actual competition robot.
Some struggles we are having is welding the thin aluminum. It is also difficult to grasp the hand-eye coordination that only comes from a lot of practice.
Here are some quotes from some members on the welding team.
"Welding is really cool. It is going well and I am getting better. The mentors have taught us a lot. If I could say how many more times I want to practice I would say one million because practice makes perfect, but I know that is not realistic. Welding has been a very good experience for me and I am happy about my progress."
"I have been wanting to weld for three years now and I finally had the chance to learn. Learning to weld aluminum proved to be a lot harder than I thought. Once I figure out how hot my welder should be and how much filler metal to use it became easier. Right now I am making sure my base metal is hot before welding, but it is sometimes hard to tell. Hopefully by the time the robot frame needs to be welded I will have enough experience to do so."
The welders get better easch time they practice, and are excited to keep learning.
Let us know if you have any questions about us, and let us know what you would like to hear about next!