Hello all,
As we are nearing the end of the school year, my department head has asked me to start thinking about things I might like to order for next year. Currently, I have a class set of EXP kits and a lot of V5 parts. I’m interested in trying out the workcell kits for my more advanced students.
My question is what is the difference between the V5 version of the workcell and the new CTE one? I don’t know much about either and would like more information to decide what would be best for my classroom.
Thanks!
I just saw another post about the V5 kit without the electronics. That seems like it would be best for my situation, but I would still like to know more about the CTE edition.
Hi Leo!
The V5 Workcell and CTE Workcell have a lot of similarities in the concepts that can be covered in relation to industrial robotics (end effectors, conveyor systems, safety considerations). But there are differences in the execution of that.
The V5 Workcell is very build-heavy and as such, is more engineering focused rather than coding focused. Students construct the arm and are responsible for mastering joints, using the potentiometers in that mastering process, and doing lots of calibrations each time in order to get the most accurate results. It’s also of note that the arm has 4 axes rather than the 6 degrees of freedom with the CTE Workcell.
Here is a link to the V5 Workcell curriculum if you want to peruse that: Workcell | VEX Education
In comparison, the CTE Workcell is focused more heavily on the coding concept side of things. Because the arm comes pre-assembled, students have more capacity to focus on concepts like the Cartesian coordinate system, variables, loops, sequencing, relative and absolute movements, etc.
We do not have curriculum on the website yet for CTE Workcell, but this gives a good overview of how the courses will progress.
Hope this helps!
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Hi @AlainaHaws , I just read your reply.
It looks like the CTE workcell makes life a lot easier for students to engage in the nitty gritty of the capabilities of working with the robot - and getting tasks done.
We have a V5 workcell, but found the mastering process etc very tedious as we had to do this quite regularly so students became frustrated as they could not find success with the task that easily.
We have the possibility of gaining a funding grant: How robust is the new CTE workcell system? How mobile is it? eg: if it gets moved from class room to classroom/school to school? does it need mastering? Or is it - almost ready to go for task pretty much “out of the box” .
I know VEX has had a lot of feedback on the V5 workcell - so I assume teh new CTE has fixed many of the challenges we have had with it.
Thanks heaps
Maree 
from the land down under!
PS: I am hoping to get a closer look at it, EP summit here in Aust at the end of this month.
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Hi Maree!
One of my favorite parts of the new CTE Workcell is that there is NO mastering. That’s been a big part of the redesign and updates. It’s definitely more robust in regards to the arm itself, so students can spend their cognitive energies focusing on the conceptual understanding of the Arm and coding.
The first course of CTE curriculum and other supports are all live now if you want to get a sense of what the kit is like.
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