Mechanical, Build & PneumaticsModule 9 of 12

Worked Examples & Mini-Projects

Stop reading theory and start building. This module walks through five complete, buildable mechanisms end-to-end: a single-jointed arm, a cascade elevator, a flywheel shooter, a pivoting intake, and a swerve module integration. Each lesson does the full loop, from physics math (torque, reduction, current limit) to real COTS part selection (with actual part numbers) to working WPILib closed-loop code you can paste into a robot project. Every number is sized so the mechanism actually works in a 120 lb FRC robot under the 120 A main-breaker power budget. Treat each lesson as a mini-project you can reproduce on a practice bot during week 2 of build season.

Worked Examples & Mini-Projects is module 9 of 12 in the Mechanical, Build & Pneumatics guide. It picks up where Safety, Rules, and Testing left off and hands over to Common Mistakes & Troubleshooting. At ~166 minutes across 5 lessons it is the longest module in the guide, which runs about 21 hours end to end.

5 lessons~166 min47 lessons in this guide

Start with lesson 1 All of Mechanical, Build & Pneumatics

In this module

5 lessons

01Mini-Project 1: A Single-Jointed Arm From Math to MotionSize a gearbox for a gravity-loaded arm, pick real parts, and write a ProfiledPIDController + ArmFeedforward control loop with cosine gravity compensation.35 min read

02Mini-Project 2: A Two-Stage Cascade ElevatorBuild a cascade elevator: compute rigging ratio, size two motors with current limits, and write ElevatorFeedforward + motion profiling that holds position against gravity.35 min read

03Mini-Project 3: A Velocity-Controlled Flywheel ShooterBuild a flywheel: reason about moment of inertia and spin-up, pick a high-speed motor, and write SimpleMotorFeedforward + velocity PID that recovers RPM between shots.30 min read

04Mini-Project 4: A Pivoting Roller IntakeDesign a deploy-and-retract intake: size a small pivot motor, pick a roller motor and compliant wheels, and sequence deploy + spin with command-based code.28 min read

05Mini-Project 5: Integrating a COTS Swerve ModuleTake a COTS swerve module from box to driving: pick a module and ratio, mount it square, run SysId, and stand up a SwerveDrive with WPILib kinematics.38 min read

Previous moduleSafety, Rules, and Testing

Next moduleCommon Mistakes & Troubleshooting

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Longer reads

Articles that go deeper on this

FRC Flywheel Shooter Design: Compression, Speed, Backspin, and HoodingHow to design an FRC flywheel shooter: exit velocity, compression, flywheel inertia and RPM recovery, single vs dual wheels, backspin, hooding, motors, and tuning.17 min read

How to Design an FRC Intake: Rollers, Compression, and MotorsA primary-source FRC intake design guide: over-the-bumper vs under-bumper, roller vs wheel, compliance and durometer, compression and wrap, and motor selection.15 min read

All 12 modules in Mechanical, Build & Pneumatics

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