This past year we were asked to sponsor a high school robotics team out of Hermantown, Minnesota. No one’s ever asked us to sponsor them before, so naturally, we were stoked!
Mateo, the robotics team business captain, was looking for polycarbonate panels to use on their robot. He and his team wanted to use polycarbonate due to the material’s strength, durability, and being light in weight as the robots cannot be too heavy and there’s a weight limit.
In the past, the Hermantown Talons Robotics Team 5232 used acrylic on their robot. The acrylic panels never held up for long and would eventually break. Their robot, Tinkerbell (how cute!), needed stronger panels that were lightweight, yet wouldn’t break during competitions.
Solid sheet polycarbonate is 30 times stronger than acrylic, but a bit pricier than acrylic too. The solid sheet polycarbonate wasn’t in their budget, but we happily sent them some along with multiwall polycarbonate. The Robotics team also found the polycarbonate’s ability to heat up and bend to be beneficial in making a smooth custom cover around the robot.
You can see in the photos where they used our clear solid sheet polycarbonate to protect the robot’s electronics. The robotics team was also able to use our multiwall polycarbonate as safety guards on their 3D printer. It’s refreshing to see our materials being used for something other than building projects and crafts.
All in all, we’re so happy to have sponsored the Hermantown Talons Robotics Team 5232. They were so grateful for the material we donated and put every inch to good use. The Talons made it to the Worlds competition again this year, congratulations guys! We’re so proud to support you and we hope to continue supporting future high school students with an interest in robotics.
