Make It Modular Submission - Competitive Robotics Practice Lab

Hello! Thanks for checking out my project. My name is Jonathan Bbalo. I am going into 10th grade, I am part of a competitive robotics club here in Harrisburg for highschoolers. Over the past several years, finding a suitable place to hold our team practices has been challenging, so when I first found this contest, I thought it would be a great idea to be able to use recycled shipping containers to help construct a robotics practice lab for our club's teams. For this competition, I will be constructing a space just for the high school division of our club. I hope this can become a viable way to create a permanent space for us for years to come.

Design Process

I have decided to use the engineering design process to help me work through my solution for this contest. The steps I will follow include:

1. Define the problem / challenge
2. Identify the parameters / constraints associated
3. Brainstorm & research different possible solutions
4. Select an approach
5. Protoype / build possible design solution
6. Evaluate solution / refine ideas / improve
7. Create solution
8. Communicate results / define the problem etc

I used the following supplies:

• a roll of white trace paper and kraft paper to jot down ideas
• architectural scale to help draw and sketch ideas to scale
• markers

I used Revit 2023 for my project

• Propose an innovative way to re-use community resources - in this case 20' L x 8' W x 9'-6" H shipping containers within the local built environment in a manner that would benefit any of these categories: the homeless, community health, education for students, or the business community.
• Proposal must demonstrate knowledge and emerging skills in the construction fields (eg. architecture, engineering or the trades)
• The proposed solution must use Autodesk software.

Key Considerations:

For my project, there are key elements that will need to be accommodated in order to make the space conducive for practice. I have begun by listing the main things down that I would need to create space for:

1/ Space to set up the 12' x 12' robot challenge game field. This is where we practice controlling and driving the robots as well as practice programming runs for tournaments. An additional 3 - 4 feet around this game field is necessary to be able to walk around it easily.

2/ A work bench and seating (6-8 seats) for each team that comes to practice. My goal is to create enough space for 4 high school teams to be able to practice simultaneously. Being at a practice with other teams is helpful in that we are able to collaborate with each other, and also practice against each other, this helps to improve our overall performance.

3/ Access to a computer workstation per team, a good supply of electricity to charge robot batteries, power the computers, and keep everything running. Electrical access needed close to the challenge game field for the electronics that are needed.

4/ A variety of storage options for various equipment - eg. drawers for trays of smaller items and electronics, larger storage cabinets with adjustable shelves in order to accommodate larger items. Open shelving for bins and items that frequently used, display cabinets and secure cabinets alike are both needed.

5/ Workspace for the coach of mentor that would be assisting us on any given practice. This space would need access to a computer workstation, a printer, as well as a variety of equipment storage options. A desk or collaborative workspace for the coach to be able to talk students is also needed.

(12' x12' VRC game field picture courtesy of VEXforum.org)

I began by looking at projects that I liked that used shipping containers. I sketched a few that I found interesting. I would like this robotics lab to have a lot of natural light, and although I am intrigued by the idea of stacking shipping containers on each other, this approach is not practical for a robotics team that has to transport heavy robotics equipment.

I looked at 2 simple solutions and weighed the pros and cons of each. Deciding option 1 has a smaller footprint but appears to be very limiting in size, I chose to pursue option 2 as it seemed to have more storage capability, more space for students to move around and it also accommodates the coach better.

1/ To begin the project, first open the program - Revit 2023. In order to prevent Revit from creating a new model each time you hit save, one has to enable worksharing. This is done like this: along the top ribbon, look for the tab called Collaborate. Once you click on this tab, select the "worksets" option and click on it. This will open up a dialogue box called worksets. Click OK and close the dialogue box.

2/ Save your model as a central file. It's helpful to write the word 'central' after your file name when you save. This will help to distinguish this file from others that you create following it. Once you have saved your central file, close the model. Reopen it again by going to file open and then click once on the central file you just created. A new local file will be created using your Autodesk login. Working in the local file allows you to work in a separate model from the central, but they remain connected. In order to keep the central file up to date with the work being done in the local file, you have to save and synchronize your local file with the central file. This is simply done by first hitting the save button on the uppermost ribbon on the left, followed by clicking the synchronized button next to it on the right.

3/ The next step is to create a shipping container. There are 2 options available: you could either model it out or you can look for a Revit shipping container family from the web. I have found the simpler way would be to model the shipping container out yourself. I started by modeling a shipping container that was the standard 20' L x 8' W x 9'-6" H, I then copied it so that I had an overall bay that was 3 containers wide by 4 containers deep. This image shows an initial 9 bays I created before adding to it.

4/ Once I had a general 12 bay layout, I added the last additional container that is located on the last bay of the middle row.

5/ Next, I began to remove all the interior walls of the containers, I was careful to leave the walls along the perimeter.

6/ Once I had removed the interior walls of the shipping container, I created a floor that followed the same outline of the 13 containers.

7/ I also added an interior wall to the inside face of the containers, this wall is approximately 4 1/2" thick - it consists of 1 1/2" thermal / Air layer, 2 1/2" metal studs, and 1/2" of drywall on the inside face of the wall.

8/ Next, I wanted to create a glass wall along the southern front of the building. I removed the shipping container wall panel from along the southern perimeter of the building, then I replaced it with a curtain wall system which consists of a full glass wall - and a glass front entrance. I also wanted to create a slight overhang along the front glass wall, so I pulled the glass wall back by 2 feet. I added grid lines to the curtain wall system and then mullions. I also searched for a full glass door from the Revit library of families.

9/ I searched for a number of Revit families that I wanted to include in my project. I knew for my project that I wanted to show a lot in the way of different types of storage and how the space would be organized. I found using these Revit families really helped me achieve that. I added the following built-in families to my project. I also added light fixture families, and specialty equipment families.

10/ Once I added the families into the project. I started to arrange them in the space. I started by arranging the Team workstations and countertop areas. I wanted the spaces to be identical to each other so that each team would receive the same as the others. After placing the countertops, cabinets and specialty equipment for the teams. I also created a horizontal window at each team workstation area to allow more light into the space and give the students a connection with the outdoors. This window sits above the counter and below the wall cabinets. Next, I installed cabinet storage, countertop and equipment for the Coach's area.

11/ Next, I created large windows on the north facing 'back' wall of the space closest to the coach's work area. I also created smaller glass walls at the coach area which have exits out of the space and will act as the emergency exits from the space if needed.

12/ I then modeled the roof in a similar way as the shipping container walls. I added a large skylight along the mid portion of the roof, directly above where the game field will be located.

13/ Next, I started to look at the site, and used the massing and site tab to create an overall site around the building. I added trees, a couple of benches and bike racks as I think these would be useful for students coming to practice.

Overall, I think the design came out well and I can see our teams practicing in a space like this!

I would refine this idea by maybe adding a bathroom container nearby and also create a seperate space for our younger teams.