here are a few things you might want to know...
- Use L298 driver with DC motors instead of L293: the L298 has the ability to enable fast-braking.
- Code in pairs! It's much more efficient, especially when you're sleep deprived.
- Use timers to end each state so that your robot doesn't get stuck in any one state unintentionally.
- It's great to plan strategy ahead of time, but be willing to make adjustments as you realize what is and isn't feasible. We changed our strategy at 2am the night before checkoff, but our lives would've been a lot easier if we did this earlier.
- Be sure to pay attention to noise crossover from DC motors, Servos, and Stepper motors. Capacitors are your friend!
- Minimum requirements are not as trivial as they may seem. Plan your design around meeting minimum requirements in as simple a way as possible.
- Start prototyping early and don't be afraid to iterate... we ended up having a decent shooter because we iterated MANY times - there were several initial ideas that didn't work as well as we thought. It was also helpful to see what other teams were designing, to get ideas as to how to improve our own design. For example, we initially used couplers to attach our shooter motor, but realized that direct coupling the motor shaft to our flywheel actually made a huge difference in reducing vibrations.
- Book laser cutting time early! Even if you don't know exactly what you're gonna cut yet. Time slots fill up fast!