2.007 taught me that an effective design is one that follows a guideline. The brainstorming-ideas phase and the building phase are the phases most people concentrate on, but it is important to spend time on the design phase to make the transition work smoothly. I realized that every detail, literally down to the nuts and bolts, have to be considered while designing.
I was really excited with my spinner idea. I thought it would be a unique and effective way to score, since it could easily be used as a bulldozer, and could gather balls quickly without having to turn. The finished product was very close to what I had in mind. The spinner worked fine, but I didn't use it as I had planned. After testing, I realized that the most effective way was bulldozing, so I used my spinner mostly as a shovel. The spinner collection method worked, but it was not as efficient as bulldozing. I was able to gather 5.60 pounds during the contest, but was could not advance due to size disqualification.
In retrospect, I realized I should have spent more time on the design phase. I thought of the spinner idea and was instantly attached to it. Though I solid-modelled my machine, I did not get all the tiny details. I started machining rather early and ran into difficulties, some of which were inevitable in that I would not have encountered them until I started machining, but others could have been avoided with more detailed planning. If given a second chance, I would be more open to ideas. I would make sure I had a very detailed design before jumping on a mill.
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