CNC Machining & Fixtures

Robotics machining work from my Barker Lead Robotics Mentor role, making student-designed parts manufacturable and competition-ready.

Overview

As Lead Robotics Mentor at Barker, I built much of the CNC machining workflow for the FRC and FTC robotics programs: designing workholding, planning setups, programming CAM, and making student-designed parts when the geometry, scale, or tolerances were beyond simple fabrication. Since 2023, I have logged over 800 spindle hours on parts I programmed and machined, then trained newer staff to carry more of the day-to-day machining forward. Here are a selection of some of the more interesting parts I have worked on.

What This Involved

Designed machining fixtures and setup strategies around real robot parts
Machined parts for both FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition robots
Supported student mechanical designs by turning CAD into reliable competition hardware

FTC swerve bevel gear

For an FTC swerve module, I designed and machined a pallet that made double-sided bevel gear machining repeatable. The fixture let the blanks locate consistently between operations, which was the real problem to solve before the gears themselves could be made accurately.

Designed the pallet around repeatable registration for two-sided machining
Machined the pallet, gear blanks, and final bevel gear features
Used the process to support a compact FTC swerve module

FTC swerve module isometric CAD render — Swerve module context

Bevel gear blanks during manufacture — Preparing blanks for the fixture workflow

Machined pallet for FTC bevel gears — Pallet after machining

FTC bevel gear blanks installed in the pallet — Blanks installed into the pallet

FTC bevel gear pallet in progress on the CNC machine — In-progress second-side operation

Machining timelapse

FRC chassis

This FRC work covered both a large-format billet chassis part and custom swerve module hardware. The machining was less about one delicate fixture trick and more about holding, clearing, and finishing physically large robot parts cleanly.

Machined a large billet chassis part for an FRC robot
Machined plates and module hardware for a custom swerve drive
Planned the setup around the work envelope and the part's physical scale
Handled a heavier machining workflow than typical FTC-scale robot parts

Holding the FRC billet chassis part for scale — Large-format part scale

FRC billet chassis part on the CNC machine — Billet chassis setup

Wide view of the FRC billet chassis machining setup — Machine envelope and setup context

Custom swerve module installed on chassis

FRC three motor module assembly — Custom swerve module installed on chassis

Machined plates for a custom FRC swerve module — Custom swerve module plates

Custom FRC swerve module hardware in progress — Custom swerve module in progress

FRC shooter wheel rim

For the FRC shooter wheel rim, I designed and machined a four-jaw chuck fixture plate, then used it to machine the final rim. The project combined fixture design with the actual part manufacture, so the workholding was part of the product story rather than a background detail.

Designed and machined a custom four-jaw chuck fixture plate
Used the fixture to hold the rim securely through the machining process
Machined the final shooter wheel rim for the robot

CAM setup for the FRC shooter wheel rim — CAM planning for the rim

FRC shooter wheel rim mounted in a four jaw chuck fixture plate — Four-jaw fixture setup

Toolpath preview for the FRC shooter wheel rim — Toolpath verification

FRC shooter wheel rim machining context — Rim machining context

Finished FRC shooter wheel rim after machining — Finished shooter wheel rim