FIRST
I have gone to a few first competitions. I do robotics myself actually, but I think first competitions are the most boring thing ever, and Im not sure why FIRST gets the support it does. I build 15lbs battle bots, and I think a match where an 800lbs area bolted down with 24 3/8 bolts lifts up and shears all the bolts because of a little 15 lbs bot is much more exciting. And I also find it more exciting when the weapon from a bot (miine actually lol) breaks off and goes through 2 inches of bullet resistant polycarbonate.
Well, by building battle bots, I have taught myself how to use a CNC mill, use 3D CAD/CAM programs such as Solidworks(which I'm certified in), Autodesk programs, BobCAD, MasterCam, and others. I also have taught myself a little c++ for the programming of some of our more complex robots. I learned about material engineering and physics too. What does FIRST offer to better my mechanical engineering ability?
the EXACT same thing with out fighting each other.
So, basically it comes down to personal choice.




