FIRST Robotics Competition Blog

2024 KitBot Shopping List

Dec 07, 2023 Written by Fiona Hanlon, FIRST Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist

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December 8, 2023 Please note: We replaced ThriftyBot part TTB-0012 with TTB-0083 in table two after this blog was published. 

December 12, 2023 Please note: we have updated Table 3 to increase the number of 1/4-20 1.5 in long head hex bolts and Locknuts needed and moved the Brushed Motor Controllers from Table 2 Team Sourced Parts to Table 7: Items needed for teams who opted out of the Black Tote

 

Kickoff is around the corner, and we are so excited! We previously shared some information on the KitBot but to help ensure that teams have the materials on hand to make the KitBot, we wanted to release a shopping list of some items to buy.

The items listed below (with the caveat of the last table) are in addition to what will be provided in the Black and Gray totes and the Drive Base kit.

 

 

First, we’ll start with the Raw Materials that teams will need. Note two of the items are optional as teams can choose to purchase or make them.

 

Table 1: Raw Materials

Material

Qty

Info

1 in. x 1 in. Aluminum Square Tube 1/16 in. wall thickness. 8 ft. long.

(25mm x 25 mm, 1.5mm wall thickness, ~244 cm long)

2

Okay to use other wall thickness if preferred.

2 ft. x 4 ft. Polycarbonate Sheet 0.118 in. thickness (~1200mm x 600mm, 3mm thickness)

1

Make sure to use polycarbonate and not acrylic. Acrylic of this thickness is likely to shatter either when machined or when subjected to the shock of robot operation.

(Optional) 1 ft. x 2ft. Aluminum Sheet 1/8 in. thick (~300mm x 600mm, 3mm thickness)

1

Used to make T-Brackets. Can be omitted if T-Brackets have been purchased

(Optional) – ½ in. PVC Pipe (12, 16, or 20 mm pipe)

1 ft (~300 mm)

This material is to make spacers which can also be purchased or can be 3D Printed.
 

 

Table 2 shows the parts needed for the KitBot that need to be either sourced or made.

Table 2: Team Sourced Parts

Part

Qty

Info

Spacer #10 or M5 – long (0.625 in., 15.875mm)

4

Can be 3D printed from provided files (coming soon!).

Available at many hardware stores, WCP-0203, REV (will need to use ½ + 1/8), McMaster, MSC, etc.

Spacer #10 or M5 - short (0.25 in., 6.35mm)

4

Can be 3D printed from provided files (coming soon!).

Available at many hardware stores, WCP-0308, REV, McMaster, MSC, etc.

T-Bracket

6

Fabricated (KB-24004) from 1/8 in. aluminum or purchased from am-4158, REV-21-2328-PK2, TTB-0083, WCP-1069.

2 x 2 x 10mm machine key

2

am-1121, WCP-0793, included with REV-21-1879, or commonly available from hardware suppliers as 2mm key stock to cut down.

8mm Push on retaining ring

2

am-0033, included with REV-21-1879, or commonly available from hardware suppliers.

1 1/8 in. (28.575mm) Spacers for 1/4 in thread (or M6).

4

Can be 3D printed from provided files (coming soon!) or made from PVC pipe.

Available at many hardware stores, McMaster, MSC, etc.

Cable Ties

3

50lb, 14 in. Cable Ties (~5mm width, 355mm or greater length)
 

We also wanted to share the fasteners needed. The are a few locations on the KitBot superstructure where specific fasteners are required as noted in Table 3:

Table 3: Required Fasteners

Part

Qty

Info

¼-20 1.5 in. long hex head bolt (or M6 ~40mm)

4

Other bolt head styles are acceptable.

¼-20 3 in. long Hex Head Bolt

(or M6 ~75-80mm)

4

Other bolt head styles are acceptable.

¼-20 Locknut (or M6)

8

 

#10-32 1.5 in. long Socket Head Cap Screw (or M5 ~40mm)

4

Other bolt head styles are acceptable.

#10-32 Locknut (or M5)

4

 

 

Remaining fasteners may be nuts and bolts or rivets.

For nut and bolt assembly the quantities and lengths of fasteners needed are listed in Table 4. These fasteners are recommended to be #10-32 or M5 but 1/4-20 or M6 will also work.

Table 4: Fasteners for Nut + Bolt Assembly

Part

Qty

Info

1.5 in. long Socket Head Cap Screw (~40mm)

41

Other bolt head styles are acceptable.

1.5 in. long Button Head Cap Screw (~40mm)

2

 

Locknut

43

 

 

For rivet assembly the quantities and lengths of fasteners needed are listed in Table 5.

Table 5: Fasteners for Rivet Assembly

Part

Qty

Info

3/16 in. diameter, 0.126 in. - 0.25 in. grip range pop rivets (5mm diameter, 4-6mm grip range)

85

Aluminum or steel rivets may be used.

 

For an electronics board, teams may also wish to source the materials listed in Table 6.

Table 6: Electronics Board Materials

Part

Qty

Info

2 ft. X 4ft. Plywood sheet ½ in. Thickness (~1200mm x 600mm, 12 or 13mm thickness)

1

 

1 in. long #10-32 or M5 Button Head Cap Screw (~25mm)

4

1.5 in can also work to match the ones needed in Table 4 if preferred.

Locknut - #10-32 or M5

4

For above screws

 

Finally, if you want to be able to build the KitBot Superstructure on Kickoff weekend and opted out of the Black tote, you should make sure you have the items listed in Table 7:

Table 7: Items needed for teams who opted out of the Black Tote

Part

Qty

Info

2 ft. x 2ft. Aluminum Sheet 1/8 in. thick (~600mm x 600mm, 3mm thickness)

1

 

Wheel

2

4 in. AM Wheel (am-2647_orange)

8mm to ½ in. Hex adapter

2

am-0588_long, REV-21-1879 (also includes retaining ring and key), TTB-0044, WCP-0794

CIM Motor Hardware

4

#10-32 x .625 in Socket Head Cap Screw: am-1120, REV-29-2916-PK50, or commonly available from hardware suppliers.

CIM Motor

2

am-0255, WCP 217-2000. See the game manual for a complete list of legal CIM part numbers.
Brushed Motor Controllers 2 These are in addition to those needed for the drivetrain.

 

 

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Comments

Submitted by John Gifford (not verified) on Thu, 12/07/2023 - 1:22pm

Thank you. This will help teams with limited resources preparing before the season instead of rushing in January!

Submitted by fhanlon on Tue, 12/12/2023 - 12:57pm

Hi John, 

Thanks for the feedback, our hope is that this helps with exactly that!

-Fiona Hanlon
FIRST Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist

Submitted by Andrew Lawrence (not verified) on Thu, 12/07/2023 - 3:55pm

Will a complete BOM that includes all items needed to build the kit robot be released on (or even before) kickoff? Our robotics program would like to build multiple kit robots and would like to make sure we purchase enough of the components that aren't listed (presumably things that come in the other totes). 

Submitted by Adam Fleming (not verified) on Tue, 12/12/2023 - 8:42am
Based on the wording, I believe everything on this page plus the Kitbot chassis is all you need for the Kitbot. Only thing I could see being additional is if something major is in the season kit that would give away what the game is.

Submitted by fhanlon on Tue, 12/12/2023 - 1:02pm

Hi Andrew, 

This blog is a full bill of materials (BOM) for everything needed for the KitBot Superstructure. The only additional components needed to build this as designed is the Drive Base Chassis and the electronics to drive the robot. 

-Fiona Hanlon
FIRST Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist

Submitted by Tall Guy (not verified) on Fri, 12/15/2023 - 1:13pm

Can we use 0.125" polycarbonate?   3 mm  or 0.118" thick polycarbonate seems hard to find, at least as the nominal thickness.

Submitted by fhanlon on Mon, 12/18/2023 - 8:53am

Hello, 

Thank you for the question. We listed 0.118" as it is the easiest size to find at most stores. Some places list it as 0.125" but with the tolerance specs they have most pieces are actually 0.118". Regardless, it is okay to use 0.125" if that is what you have on hand. Good Luck!

- Fiona Hanlon
FIRST Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist

Submitted by Sean McMahon (not verified) on Thu, 12/21/2023 - 8:59am

For the 1x1 aluminum square tubes, do we need 8’ lengths specifically? Or just 16 total feet?  Local suppliers seem to have 8' bars, but the common online retailers we use seem limited to 59" or 72".

Submitted by fhanlon on Thu, 12/21/2023 - 10:28am

Hi Sean,

Good question! Other size tubes can be used but teams may need more total length than we stated in the shopping list as our cut list was built for 8’ lengths. The longest single piece in the build is 28 inches long.

- Fiona Hanlon
FIRST Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist

Submitted by Jason Bodson (not verified) on Fri, 12/22/2023 - 9:12am

Home Depot offers stock lengths of 1/20" wall aluminum tubing.  Would this thinner wall have sufficient strength for the KitBot?  Thanks!

Submitted by fhanlon on Fri, 12/29/2023 - 10:22am

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the question. 1/20" aluminum wall tubing should be okay to use but note that a thinner wall tube may be easier to crush while tightening a bolt or taking a direct impact, and those factors should be considered.

- Fiona Hanlon
FIRST Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist

Submitted by Generic Mentor (not verified) on Fri, 01/05/2024 - 11:43am

Wheel

2

4 in. AM Wheel (am-2647_orange)

The wheel link doesn't quite work, the bore is not specified, so you can't actually put something in a cart and order.

Am I missing a detail somewhere?  Anyone care to advise what the bore is?

Thx in advance

Submitted by fhanlon on Sat, 01/06/2024 - 10:11am

Hello,

Apologies for the confusion. The bore size is the 1/2" hex bore. This link should also work to add it to your cart if you prefer.

Fiona Hanlon
FIRST Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist

Submitted by Roger Lachele (not verified) on Thu, 03/28/2024 - 1:09am

We ran into a little problem with the KitBot use of the orange wheels from the 2023 Black Tote.  That year they were 3" diameter.  We've played two meets already with the 3" and found that the KitBot required 4" diameter when we went to switch the worn ones for new ones.  Maybe the Black Tote was different for 2024 but we opted out of it.  I don't recall anything in the KitBot details that said you must pull some parts specifically from the 2024 Black Tote, not previous years.  

Submitted by fhanlon on Thu, 03/28/2024 - 4:43pm

Apologies for the confusion. This blog was intended to provide teams a list of items to have or buy and did include a note that the wheels in the KitBot were 4" wheels. We will try to be more explicit next year that the Black Tote list is items in the kit for that year.

Submitted by Dev (not verified) on Sun, 01/07/2024 - 8:14pm

How do i put it together.

Submitted by fhanlon on Mon, 01/08/2024 - 12:04pm

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out. You can find step-by-step instructions and a video showing the steps on the KitBot webpage.

Fiona Hanlon
FIRST Robotics Competition Team Experience Specialist

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