• KISS.  Keep It Simple, Stupid.  Don't build something complicated when something simple and stupid will work just as well.   Its our observation that the smaller/lighter/cruder machine usually wins.

• Don't be too gentle with the ingredients. When its time to harvest parts, remember, you can't break it, its already been scrapped. Don't spend a lot of time unbolting something, if you can just cut or break it off in half the time. Until we get air driven wrenches, undoing bolts is usually too time consuming.  Instead think "smoke wrench" (cutting torch), the cutting disk on the angle grinder, the recip saw, and percussive disassembly (aka sledge) as your first choice approach to removing a desired something from the greater whole.  The floor also makes a fine tool for disassembly purposes. I brought 2' bolt cutters with me on the last challenge we did, and that was only because I couldn't find a set of 4' ones in time. (bike thieves have switched to scissors jacks around here)  Taking stuff apart in this way can be wonderfully cathartic, and is recommended as a great stress relieving activity.

• This approach is hard for some people to embrace, especially those that routinely work with antique machinery, where original parts are great treasures to be preserved
• There are exceptions: the biggest is when you aren't sure you won't need whatever its attached to. (extend your circle of no-destruction to include the attachment, and re-evaluate. If you have to repeat this step more than once, then go get a wrench). A second is if its one of the "seeded" parts, that may have some special attribute, like a boiler certificate that could be affected by rough handling.
• Just remember:
• If brute force doesn't work, you aren't using enough

• Twenty Minute Rule: very few challenges last longer than twenty minutes, so don't waste time building a subsystem that will run for years.  (this can be especially hard on the Team Expert, because they're _used_ to building stuff that has to run for years).

• If you break, you lose. Countering the "20 minute" rule is a need for reliability.  If you break on course, your only hope of winning is if the other team breaks worse.  Pay attention to any power couplings, as that is what's going to break, usually as the result of a shock load.

• Weld don't bolt. Welding is faster than bolting if you have to make the holes the bolts pass thru, and that goes double if you have to tap them.  Service access is pretty much a non-issue.  (per the two previous rules).  A warning - Be careful when you weld up your power couplings, that MIG is not set up for joining very heavy sections.  Its unfortunately quite easy to make a big, good looking, non penetrating bead, that will let you down on Friday.

• Precision fit? find it if you can: Parts that were originally factory-made to fit together precisely will continue to do so.  Parts that you make during a challenge to fit together precisely won't. (at least in the time you get, and with the tools in the shop) There are exceptions in both directions.

• Design checks: (aka: MTB: Minimum Two Brains ) - when you are about to build some part of your machine and it's not totally trivial, grab some (any) other team member and explain it to them.  If they agree that's a good way to do it, do it.  If they find a problem with your way, come up with a solution.  If it isn't clear, call a Team Design Review and spend five minutes getting it right.

• MCF: Mission Critical First - parts and subsystems that are mission critical ALWAYS have top priority for scrounging and for construction.  Leave the decoration for last.

• Test Early, Test Often - Test every subassembly as soon as possible.  For example, if you've scrounged a motor, make sure that it runs AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.  This includes out in the heap, even before you've brought it back into the build bay. Not only will this save you lots of time when you find out your X doesn't want to play with your Y, but it also gives the camera crews lots of fun footage of scary things spinning around.  Keep checking as you assemble things, you want to find any interference between subsystems as early in the day as possible.

• Project management for the time challenged; We found a big pad of coarse graph paper, permanent markers, and a pad of Post Its to be very handy.  Use the paper to rough out ideas (see MTB above) and then put your critical items list on yellow stickies and either stick them to the board, or hand them to whoever is doing them.

• Your friend the secret weapon; Try to leave yourself some extra reserve or ability to pull out if you need it.  For example: leave in the transmission (even when it shouldn't be needed) having a low gear could be your salvation, when you don't have the starting torque you expect. (if you hide it under a cover, you can make a great bit of conspiracy by showing it to Robert)

• Leave margins. When calculating opposing forces, you usually don't want the sides to wind up equal.  For example: in a calculation of lift vs weight, don't settle for just enough lift, you can almost always add weight.

• A corollary to the margin/adjustment rule is if they both exist, bring both kinds of adjustment to the test site. On our submarine challenge, we brought a lot of stuff for ballast, but it didn't occur to us to bring stuff that floated.
• Identify your hidden assumptions: Think a little (but not too long) about what would happen if some of your assumptions (like this compartment won't leak) doesn't happen.

• The machine shop should be a last resort. While there is a lathe/mill combo available out back, you should think briefly about other ways to get the part you need, as they are very time consuming to use.  Use it only if you can't find something ready-made to do the job.  It will cost you a minimum of 5% of your total available man hours by the time you get thru the setup, should you decide to use it.

• Make time for silliness. Don't forget to have some purposeless fun while you are frantically rushing to build your masterpiece.  Yes, its already a lot of work (you are as much cast as contestant) but you will get a lot of mileage out of stories of the silly things you did, possibly more than you get from the results themselves.  Win or lose, every participant I have spoken with, will without a moments hesitation, accept an offer to do another challenge.  So take a little time (and even possibly some advance planning) to do something silly.  Its especially good if it can be directed at the other team or as a surprise to one of the presenters. Feel free to let the director know of your conspiracies, they will gladly help to set up your victim(s)

 
• Examples from our challenges: We parachuted in some chocolate to the Brothers in Arms, shouting "Incoming".  We gave Cathy a copy of "The Hackers Dictionary" so she would understand some of our slang. (kludge, cruft, mung, frob, etc.)  I took a propellor ornament off my bicycle helmet and attached it to the nose of our submarine, telling Robert (on camera) it was the arming device.  (and it looked GREAT underwater)
• Miranda Warning.  If you do it on camera, they may well use it.  This is particularly true if they ask you to repeat a mistake.   You don't have any say in how the show gets edited, so make it competent apperaring sillyness.

• HYDRATE. Lots of liquid, often.  Drink before you are thirsty, eat something before you feel hungry.  It gets hot on set (unless its raining).  Some chocolate for around 3 pm is a particularly good thing.  Note: anything on set must not have a label showing, but feel free to lay in a private stock.  (in case the caterer doesn't stock or runs out of your liquid of choice).  Yanks: try some of the uniquely British foods and liquids when you have the chance (yes, even the IRN-Bru)
• Care and feeding of Experts: RDF will be matching you up with an expert.  They will know what the challenge is, and will have submitted a design and shopping list.  They are there to advise, they are not the team leader, your captain has the final call.  Their design is likely to have a couple of bugs in it, your job is to find them, and work around them.    As mentioned in the 20 minute rule, they are used to building long lived, highly reliable machines, from a known stock of parts.  Tools and supplies in their shop don't count. (yes, they may be tearing their hair out when they realize some part isn't on the pile)
• We always gave our expert a small gift after the build, one of our T shirts before.

• Check your costume fit on training Tuesday -- she tends to make them snug, so make sure you have full motion when you try it on.  Squat, reach overhead, etc.  Remember you may be climbing a pile of stuff in the thing, you don't want it to pinch.  The costume mistress can change things (gussets for example) to make them fit better, so don't be afraid to ask.

• Wired for sound: They will be hiding a transmitter in your clothing.  Worse, they will need to change the batteries (twice) on build day. I (dp) find it most comfortable to wear mine positioned at the small of my back, pouch inside the belt so it doesn't move around. Unfortunately it meant I had to get the top half of the costume off when the battery needed a change, a process that at times required help. Your preference may vary.

•  Safety glasses: Bring your own, ones you know to fit _you_.  In fact, bring spares, because safety glasses get scratched, and the ones on-set may be kind of beat up.  If possible, bring safety sunglasses as well, because it gets bright on-set during the day (but be aware that when they film you in conversation, they prefer to see your eyes).  A cord to let you hang them around your neck will mean you don't have to go retrieve them from the tangled pile of scrap they fell into.  Remember, if you aren't wearing safety gear, they can't use the footage.

• Leathermen: Bring your own favorite pouch tool (leatherman, etc.), in a belt pouch.  Crash recommends the Leatherman Wave, dp liked his customized Gerber, Geo his Kershaw.  Once, after the build day, the two teams, plus judge and consultant sat around the hotel bar, and  spent a pleasant hour comparing the various such tools that we carried.  Worked out to 1.7 tools/person, and at least 7 different models represented (not counting swiss army knives).  Don't forget to take it off your costume when you change at the end of the day.  When working on water, use the lanyard tab.  Geo's Kershaw is now at the bottom of a pond on the tank training range, because he untied the lanyard to hand it to someone.

• Welding for dummies: Bring an automatic dimming  welding helmet (LCD, aka a "reactive" or "wink") if you have one. Since cheap ones can be as low as US$ 140, getting on the show may just be the final bit of excuse that you needed to justify buying yourself one.  The time saved, even if you are used to traditional helmets, is well worth it.  The improvement in weld quality if you are a duffer like me, is invaluable.

• Intellectual accessories: Bring a calculator, and a few reference books that you like. (Machinery's Handbook, a CRC, and a copy of The Pocket Ref are good).

• I like them in Day-Glo colors: Bring 4 matching tape measures.  There is usually only one in the shop, and when the scroungers take it into the yard, the people back in the workshop will need it.  And yes, 4, because you will lose one, consider it expendable.

• Measure by eye, mark with chalk, cut with an axe, pound to fit: Chalk is a good thing.  The marks are usually the right level of precision.  (and for big things, you can draw the layout on the shop floor with it).

• Pesky wires: Bring a small voltmeter.  A lot of challenges will involve things like an electrical system to run the starter and ignition.

• Keep your cruft together, and remember your efforts.  BRING A STILL CAMERA AND A BIG DUFFLE BAG to take pictures of your creation and to keep together all your stuff.  Keep the duffle in the "Blue Tool Cube" in your build bay and remember to retrieve it before you leave the set.

REMEMBER TO RETRIEVE ALL YOUR PERSONAL STUFF
BEFORE YOU STEP OFF THE SET AFTER THE BUILD
(and that time starts when you are invited over to the other side
to look at the other teams machine)
OTHERWISE, IT WILL BE CLEANED UP AND WILL PROBABLY NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN!!!

• The mother lode, and other gifts from on high. Small common parts and supplies, like bolts, screws, glue, nails, oil, grease, welding rod, particular (oversize) drills and wrenches, etc. can be had for the asking, by saying "We need to find some <whatever> into your boom microphone.  If you don't get satisfaction, or it's something bizarre, ask directly by coming over to the Assistant Director's position (the scaffolding tower behind the propane manifold and oxygen tanks), if necessary climbing the wall to get their attention, and just asking.  The desired common parts will appear from the stockroom in a few minutes (often by someone just tossing them down to you "from heaven".)  This won't work for complicated things you're supposed to scrounge, but for tools and consumables, that's where they come from.

• Can you do that again, I missed it. Don't be afraid of the camera crews.  If you're going to do something interesting, (e.g. a Test Early Test Often ) or spectacular, sidle up behind one and say "I'm going to <whatever> now, you might want to catch this on video" and help them get a good shot of it. Likewise, you may need to ask one to move if they're in the way of what you need to do.  Otherwise, the camera crews and the set people Do Not Exist- ignore them.

• Appeals to a higher court; If something isn't right - LET THE DIRECTOR KNOW RIGHT AWAY!!! Time is the most expensive thing on the set, and the quicker a problem is dealt with, the better for all concerned.

• They don't test in situ any more. The machine will need to get moved to some distant place for the trial.  While you don't have to worry if it will fit thru the doors (remember the car tossing cranes), if it doesn't otherwise interfere with your design, try to keep one of the footprint dimensions under 3 meters.  Makes it a LOT easier for them to transport (avoids having to go thru wide load paperwork). Do give a little thought to how the thing can be lifted.  The easier it is to move, and the better it can support itself on the truck, the more likely it will arrive intact, and your pre-trial hack time can be spent applying decorations, and practicing operation, instead of emergency repairs to something that wasn't strong enough to survive the trip.

• Win or lose, bring something home. On test day, after the silliness with the champagne, etc. grab the recip saw, and cut off a bit of your masterwork to take home and hang on your wall.  And when they are doing the publicity shots of you and your creation, hand your camera to someone to get your own pictures of the team with your masterpiece.

 

Travel Tips for Yanks

• Jet Lag: Take it very seriously.  Be sure to allow yourself enough time to acclimate before you need to pick up power tools.  The usual rule of thumb is to allow one day for every two time zones shift. Getting out and letting sun hit you helps the process along, so you have a real reason to play tourist.  Your brain shifts fastest, your gut takes the longest. (less than one zone per day).

• Getting from the airport: There is public transport available from both airports. From Heathrow, you have a choice of a fast, but pricey train, or a somewhat slower and much cheaper trip on the underground.  From Gatwick, there is a local and an express train to chose from.  If you are bringing something bulky (I brought a bike as a prop the first time)  ask RDF to arrange transportation for you. I would not rent a car, London traffic is at least as legendary as any other place you can imagine, and you will be trying to get used to right hand drive, while your brain is barely functional.  If you take some vacation after your build, then rent the car, so you can see some more of the countryside.

• The Underground: I think the best way to get around the city is by tube.  You will be there long enough to justify the purchase of a 7 day pass.  Passes work on a zone system, the "ZONE 123" that we bought cost about UKP 22. To purchase a pass you also need a London Underground official photo ID.  The ID is free, they are issued right at the ticket window that you buy the pass at, and makes a suitably obscure souvenir.  (they exist to discourage pass sharing, they print the ID card number on the pass) To get one all you need is a passport sized photo.  (there are machines at all tube stations if you don't bring one with you,  they all charge UKP 3.) There are vending machines inside the stations that sell a very good map for UKP 2. (its also a good street map both of center city, and the area near the yard).  Note: the Underground passes don't work on "national rail", or "Connex".  They do work on the "DLR" (which runs by the 'ooge if they use it again), and on the busses.  If you do take the Underground to/from Heathrow with a "zone 123", you will need to purchase a supplemental ticket before you enter the station.

• Telephone foibles: Your cell phone won't work (unless its a triple GSM).  Phone jacks don't match, but the signals do.  (you can make a converter cable for your modem, but you may not want to).  Pay phones are pricey, especially when you call a cell phone. (the person initiating the call pays, cell phones have distinctive "area codes").  We wound up buying a "pay as you go" cell phone for UKP 50, the amount saved over pay phones (and especially the ability to receive calls) made it a bargain.

• Network Access: The best deal we found was a chain called "Easy Everything".  The price varies, but one pound will buy anywhere from 30 minutes to more than 2 hours.  (never saw the 30 minute rate, it was usually an hour or more at the times we went).  They are located within a block of major tube stations. (and since they are a sponsor, they are marked on the Tube map mentioned above).  In general time in such places (they also do coffee) will be cheaper than the phone call to a _local_ ISP.

Two Peoples Separated by a Common Language

While most people are familiar with the simpler language differences (boot, tyre, chemist, lift, spanner) here are some of the more obscure ones. (including some "slang")
 

American	British
Crescent Wrench	Shifting Spanner
Vise Grips	Mole Grips
Epoxy	Araldite
2x4	4x2
drill rod	silver steel
Cold rolled	BMS (?)
JB Weld	Belzona
SAE 60 degree thread angles	Whitworth 55 degree thread angles
Drill Press	Pillar Drill
Tap and Die set	Screwing Tackle
Throttle	(steam only) Regulator
Johnson Bar (steam engine)	Reverser
Smoke Wrench	Gas Axe
Bronze (one variety)	Gunmetal
Fanny Pack	Bum Bag (In British, fanny is a very crude term for a certain piece of female anatomy)

• You can make a self powered air compressor by replacing the plug on one cylinder of a multi-cylinder engine with a check valve.  It will run a bit lumpy on 3 out of the 4, but it will run.  Don't breathe the output, but its fine for filling a lift bag, or charging an air cannon. (a "deluxe" model, has the intake and exhaust manifolds cut away on the pumping cylinders, and the hole in the remaining intake sealed.).  You can do a "two stage" with a V8, but you aren't likely to find such an engine on the pile, and it will take too long to build anyway.

• The steering knuckle of a FWD car is a good bit of well bearinged shaft, with a nice bolt flange.  (but you will have to use lug nuts, the threading is one not otherwise found in nature.)

• Reasonably fit humans generate about 250 watts medium term.  Design for high torque; a human (especially in a recumbent position) can generate >300 lb/ft of torque.  Shaft speeds are typically max of 100 rpm, unless you have a trained engine.  Best output is a position where the maximum leg extension leaves the knee slightly bent.

• If you want to use a bicycle freewheel to do compound gearing, one of the cups holding the bottom bracket has the same threading, and is made of steel so you can weld it in place.  Don't try to take one apart to remove the ratchet pawls, there are hundreds of tiny lose bearings inside, and you will be an hour trying to re-assemble it before you throw it over the far wall.  If you find a modern cassette hub, its even easier. Pull the axle, and then a 10 mm "allen" wrench will remove the bolt holding it to the hub.  The bolt is a standard metric thread, so mounting one is even easier than scavenging a cup to mount a  freewheel. (and a further note: one of the bottom bracket cups is left hand thread, as is one of the pedals)

• Be aware that single speed bikes use a wider chain than the derailer style.  You can usually make a derailer chain fit over single speed cogs (just angle grind a new tooth profile), but single speed chains may hang up on the adjacent gear of a freewheel. (if you don't need the adjacent gear, grind the teeth off, but you did cost yourself a reserve ratio).

• A standard oil drum can float 400 lb..

• DC motors will run underwater (for half an hour at least).  They won't rust until you take them out of the water. Starters will catch fire if run in air for any length of time, but are fine underwater.  The Lucas ones have nice long shafts sticking out the end, and separate solenoids. (pull type "bendix" drive). Connecting to the short nosed variety where the solenoid pushes the gear into position is a lot harder, but you aren't depending on the prince of darkness then.  (The three positions of a Lucas headlight switch are "Dim", "Flicker" and "Off")

• Flip your differential over to cope with "4 speeds reverse" issues.

• Trebuchet have longer range if you put them on wheels.

• A good way to prep a surface for tape, is more tape.  Sacrifice a bit to clean the crud off.  Remember, Duct tape is The Force:  It has a light side, and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.  Our single build record was 4 rolls.

• A water nozzle is helped by a sharp, square edge at the end.  It promotes a clean break and thus longer range than the "obvious" flaring end.

• If you need a long bolt, weld a nut onto the threaded rod supply.  If you need a very long bolt, consider welding some pipe or even angle in place of some of the threaded rod.

• If you weld cast iron with the MIG, it will crack.  Ask for the "mixed metal" welding rods.  They are full of nickel, and the resulting beads have enough "give" that the joint will hold together.
• Duct tape and silicone caulk are both fine ways to seal things, but use one or the other, and not both.  The duct tape will keep the caulk from curing, and the uncured caulk will keep the duct tape from sticking.

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