Scientists and engineers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will mentor and assist students from eight schools for the FIRST Robotic competition, which invites science and engineering high school students. For the purpose of the competition, students make use of additive manufacturing to create components and systems for their robots.
At the FIRST robotics kick-off held in early January, Addie Chambers, daughter of ORNL's Jeff Chambers, holds a robotic arm made from titanium powder.
ORNL previously assisted students from Hardin Valley Academy for designing, fabricating and testing components. Three other senior students from the Academy went on to carry out their senior projects at the university with particular focus on additive manufacturing. Their experiments and their work resulted in an invention and many robotic companies expressed their interest in licensing their technology. The Academy was chosen as one of the top rookie teams.
For the current year, ORNL is supporting eight schools by providing work space at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and providing financial assistance. The university will also encourage more and more of its staff to mentor and assist the students in additive manufacturing. Students gather on every Saturday to discuss the progress achieved and the challenges or issues faced in the development of robots.
Additive manufacturing enables the manufacture of robots and its components through procedures such as laser, fused deposit modelling and electron beams. Additive manufacturing depends on building from scratch and adding complicated features unlike subtractive manufacturing which involves cutting and turning.