News

Supporting Red Hot Chili Bots

Team 1 Plastics, a plastic injection molding company for the automotive industry, is proud to be a sponsor of the Red Hot Chili Bots, a FIRST Robotics Competition team, from Marshall High School in Marshall, Michigan.

According to the team’s website, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics’ purpose is “…to inspire students to consider STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics] as part of their academic and career paths. The Red Hot Chili Bots students and mentors focus on providing opportunities for students to expand their working knowledge of engineering procedures, while engaging in the business of building a robot. The FIRST experience continually impacts the goals of our students.”

As one meets and talks with the Team members, one finds that FIRST is meeting its purposes. Drew Deitrich, a sophomore and two-year member of the team, has become proficient in programming the robot through JAVA software and hopes to have a future in Engineering, Math, or Computer Programming. Liam Russell, a junior and co-captain of the team, said that FIRST has provided him with opportunities for careers, including software programming, that he probably would have never considered.

Red Hot Chili Bots is in its fourth year of competition, having begun in 2013, through the assistance of Harper Creek High School’s robotics team. Harper Creek and Marshall are normally fierce rivals in sporting competitions. However, one of FIRST Robotics principles is “Gracious Professionalism,” teaching students to respect and help others who may be your competition now, but could be your teammate in the future. This principle is emphasized through the structure of the competition event. Three teams are partnered up together in each round of competition to compete against three other teams. Your teammate in this round may very well be your opponent in the next round.

Gracious Professionalism does work. At the competition, one can observe the individual teams huddling together to plan their strategy to work together to achieve the most points possible for their collective team. Just as the Red Hot Chili Bots were recipients of help from the robotics team from Harper Creek High School, they have, in turn, helped two other high schools establish their robotics teams.

Each year, FIRST Robotics creates a unique, challenging, competitive game. The teams are introduced to that year’s game and provided with a kit of materials. The teams have only six weeks in which to build their robots. Instruction manuals are not included in the kit. Creativity, previous experiences, and mentors’ help provide the basis for determining how to build the robot. Skills that are needed for working on the robot include software programming, CAD design, graphic design, welding, electrical, mechanical, machining, and construction. The Marshall team is fortunate to have on-site access to the high school’s wood and machine shops as well as having a dedicated classroom for their team.

The students learn much more than industrial and programming skills. They are learning life skills such as collaborative group work, problem solving, assessing strengths and weaknesses, setting and achieving goals, leadership development, fund raising, community relations, training, and management.

As captain of the team, Andrew Seifert, senior and fourth year team member, demonstrates the leadership and management skills that he has learned. He said that in his role as captain, he leads the team meetings, sets schedules, updates the collaboration software the team uses, and facilitates communication among the team by translating “terms” between mechanical and design.

The skills that the students are learning are worthwhile, but everyone agrees that the best part of FIRST Robotics is the competition. The Red Hot Chili Bots competed at Battle Creek Lakeview High School on March 10-12, 2016, trying to qualify for the national competition in St. Louis. When asked what to look for at a competition, the team members gave a variety of responses, such as “lots of fun, interaction with other teams, friendly atmosphere, people in the stands dressed up in costumes.” The one response that was repeated over and over was “sportsmanship.”

During the Open Ceremonies at the Lakeview competition, the audience was reminded by Lakeview’s Superintendent, David Peterson, that Robotics is the only sport in high school where every participant can “go pro.”

Every team needs a coach to lead and direct. Robotics is no exception. The Red Hot Chili Bots’ coach is Steve Seifert. Seifert, a software programmer for IBM, became involved in robotics several years ago as a Boy Scout leader, helping his sons complete merit badges in robotics. The experience was so positive that it gave father and sons a desire to find out what other opportunities were available in robotics. They discovered the FIRST Robotics Competition and decided to form a team.

Several other adults serve as mentors for the team, including Ray Ebbinghaus, a mechanic at Team 1 Plastics, and Michael Coates, an employee of Eaton Corporation. Robotics teams are always needing and looking for more mentors — professionals who have an expertise in one or more areas and are willing to invest in students’ lives to train them and work alongside them.

In addition, local robotics teams are always looking for sponsors. It costs each local robotics team several thousand dollars each year to compete in FIRST Robotics, to operate training sessions, and to participate in community events. More information on donating time and/or money can be found on FIRST’s website.

Supporting local educational organizations is part of Team 1 Plastics’ culture to be a Positive Community Member. As part of its Championship Dream, the company “… strongly values the importance of continuous learning of our team members and their families with special emphasis on the children of our communities … Team 1 will focus its financial contributions to the local community.”