Loose Screws 5237

10/18/2026

🔩 Behind the Build: Parallel Plate Drivetrain 🔩
As we swarm into the BIOBUZZ season, the structural foundation of our robot is everything. To handle the fast-paced, high-interaction gameplay of this year's challenge, Team 5237 decided to design a custom parallel plate drivetrain chassis.
Why parallel plates?
✅ Rigidity: Dual-plate construction prevents frame-flex when maneuvering over the arena floor tiles.
✅ Space Optimization: It gives us a compact footprint, keeping us well within the 18-inch sizing limits while creating internal channels for electronics and our pollen intake/shooter systems.
✅ Maintenance: Clear access lines make it easier to tighten loose screws in a pinch during alliance match breaks! 😉
The chassis is assembled, the motors are wired, and we are ready to move into the programming and pathing phases. Massive thanks to our amazing mentors and sponsors for helping us bring this design to life! 🦾✨

10/18/2026

⚙️🐝 OUR DRIVETRAIN IS BUZZING FOR BIOBUZZ! 🐝⚙️
FTC Team 5237 Loose Screws is officially locked in, tuned up, and ready to swarm the field for this year's FIRST Tech Challenge season: BIOBUZZ! 🏎️💨
The wheels are spinning, the motors are humming, and our build is tighter than ever. We’ve been putting in the hours in the workshop to make sure our robot is fast, agile, and ready to dominate the field, secure that pollen, and claim the hive! 🍯🛠️
We might be called the Loose Screws, but this drivetrain is locked down and flying! 🔩
Want to see our progress? Check out our latest video here: 👇
https://youtube.com/shorts/z1o19Ak5J_4?si=9nQThzlsA9QSAhSq

The drivetrain isn’t the only thing buzzing—the whole team is hyped...

10/09/2026

🚀 I believe it can fly! ⚙️✨
The FTC Team 5237 Loose Screws crew is hard at work prototyping our shooter mechanism for the BIOBUZZ season! Watch those yellow game pieces launch right into the hive. 🎯 Consistency is key, and we are dialing it in day by day. 🐝
What mechanisms is your team testing out for the BIOBUZZ challenges this week? Let us know in the comments! 👇

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10/04/2026

Huge thank you to Vistra for having us out at the Davis-Besse Community Days and Car Show! 🤖🏎️
Our team, Loose Screws FTC 5237, had an amazing time showcasing our robots in action, meeting so many incredible people, and sharing our passion for the FIRST Tech Challenge program. Events like this are the perfect reminder of how much we love bringing STEM directly into the community!
We are incredibly grateful to Vistra for hosting such a fantastic event and for giving local youth programs a platform to shine. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth to ask questions, control a robot, or just say hello—your support means the world to us! ⚙️✨

09/20/2026

🐝 Behind the Nuts & Bolts: Meet Bryce! 🐝
As we swarm into the BioBuzz season, it’s time to look behind the nuts and bolts of FTC 5237 LooseScrews and harvest some wisdom from a very special member of our hive.
Today, we are featuring our amazing Team Captain, Bryce, who is officially in his final year of FTC! Bryce has been a pillar of our team, keeping us pollinated with positive energy, and we sat down with him to look back at his journey.
Here is what he had to say:
🍯 1. What is your favorite memory from your time with the LooseScrews, and why was it so special to you?
"Getting the invitation to Worlds in Houston, Texas and competing there. I was able to meet teams from all around the world!"
🦟 2. What was the hardest challenge you faced while on Loose Screws, and how did you overcome that challenge?
"Surviving drive team practices! I overcame it by staying positive and optimistic."
💡 3. What advice do you have for the future LooseScrews?
"Stay productive, learn something new, have fun, and stay Loose!"
📈 4. How has the team changed from your very first season to your final season?
"We've added many new faces to the team, and we made the big switch over from Blocks to Java programming."
🌻 5. What are you going to miss most about Loose Screws and FTC?
"I will miss all the memories I had, and most of all, Coach Chris and Coach Greg who made me the best person I could ever be. My coaches and mentors kept me focused, motivated me, and reminded me to embrace every experience! Thank you to all the mentors and coaches."
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Bryce, thank you for your incredible leadership, dedication, and for always reminding us to "stay loose." We are so proud of you and can't wait to see how high our team flies during this BioBuzz season!
Tighten Up!!!

09/19/2026

🤖🐝 HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR RETURNING SPONSOR! 🐝🤖FTC Team 5237, the Loose Screws, is incredibly excited to announce that Vistra Corp is back as an official sponsor for this year's FTC BIOBUZZ season! Their continued partnership and dedication to fueling STEM education gives our student engineers the resources they need to build, code, and launch their designs to the next level. We are so grateful to have Vistra Corp supporting the Loose Screws as we tackle the hive this season! Thank you for investing in the future of innovation and helping our team Tighten Up! 🛠️

09/13/2026

🤖 HUMANS AS ROBOTS?! 🐝To master the brand-new 2026–2027 FIRST Tech Challenge game, BIOBUZZ™ presented by RTX, Team 5237 Loose Screws decided to do something a little crazy... we turned our students into the robots!Before touching a single piece of aluminum or writing a line of code, the kids had to simulate the entire match flow themselves. We let them use their hands as the intakes to grab the "pollen" and ignored the usual 18-inch robot sizing limits to let them focus entirely on field navigation and scoring strategy! It was a hilarious way for the Loose Screws to test out alliance coordination, feel how crowded the center Hive gets, and map out our early autonomous paths. How is your team preparing for the Biobuzz season? Let us know in the comments!

Before touching the aluminum and motors, we had our students simula...

09/11/2026

🔩🐝 DECODE SEASON REWIND: THE LOOSE SCREWS ROAD TO WORLDS! 🐝🔩From late-night Auto pathing sessions and chaotic prototyping to stepping onto the field at the Michigan State Championship and punching our ticket to Houston, the FTC DECODE season was one for the history books! 🤖✨We faced broken parts, tight build limits, and massive design pivots, but if there's one thing a Loose Screw knows how to do... it’s Tighten Up!! 💚We put together a slideshow to look back at every high, every low, and all the safety-green memories made along the way. Check out the full video on YouTube! 🚨 TO OUR FELLOW FTC TEAMS: If you spot your team or your robot in the video, drop a comment below or on YouTube so we can tag you! We loved competing with all of you this season! 🤝A massive thank you to our students, mentors, parents, and amazing sponsors for keeping our screws tight all year long. We couldn't have done it without our incredible village! ⚙️🏆 , , , , , , , , ,

🔩🐝 DECODE SEASON REWIND: THE LOOSE SCREWS ROAD TO WORLDS! 🐝🔩 From ...

09/06/2026

https://youtube.com/shorts/1fOhlVawCls?is=sK4x56U27re5mesf

Putting the official goBILDA Starter Bot mechanisms to the test for...

05/30/2026

End of the season team/family BBQ today! A fun way to wrap up our season!