Customers since: August 2025
CanSpace aligns with our technical needs as well as our team’s values, so working with them was the obvious choice. [It] was the only one that ticked all the boxes on price, sustainability, customer support, and had good reviews online already. […] I remember the first time I submitted a ticket for technical support and they responded in under 10 minutes, I knew immediately that I had picked the right provider.
Adam Cheers, Mechanical and Media Mentor, MakeShift Robotics
Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are located.
I’m Adam Cheers, a BTech Automation Engineering student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. I was a student member of MakeShift Robotics throughout high school, and I’m currently a mentor with them. I handle mechanical/CAD tasks during our build season, as well as managing our online presence, infrastructure, and branding.
Tell us about MakeShift Robotics, your team and its mission.
MakeShift Robotics is FRC Team 4039 (https://4039.ca), based in Hamilton, Ontario. We compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition: a global high-school-level engineering challenge where teams design, build, and program a robot to compete in a game that changes every year. The mission is to give student members the opportunity to work alongside adult mentors and professionals in a real team environment, pursuing a competitive student-built robot while developing skills that carry far beyond the build season and prepare them for further studies and real-world industry.
How do you find team members? And what does it take to become a member of a team like yours.
Most of our students find us through their schools, word of mouth, or community outreach events – most of our team members are students at St. Mary CSS, our home school. Although we operate out of St. Mary, we keep our process as open as possible, you don’t need any prior experience in robotics, programming, or engineering to join.
That being said, being on an FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) team does require serious commitment, the “build season” where most of the work happens runs from January through April and takes a lot of hours from all team members. It’s closer to a small business or a job than just a regular school “club”.
How competitive is the landscape of robotics competition?
Extremely competitive, especially in Ontario. The province is home to some of the most decorated FRC teams in the world. Our Ontario Provincial Championship is regularly one of the most watched and most competitive events worldwide, aside from the world championship itself. The average Ontario team competes much stronger than the average team in most districts.
What does it take to be a successful team?
To compete at such a high level every year requires consistency and good team culture, as well as technical ability.
Having consistent systems and infrastructure to rely on also helps us focus on the robot every year and keeps our attention directed at teaching students new skills.
Why and how did you get involved with robotics? What’s the best thing about it?
I was on a LEGO robotics team in elementary school, and joining robotics in my first year of high school seemed like a no-brainer at the time. One of the best parts about the team is the immediate and real-world impact of your work. Because of the rapid timeline of the build season, parts get made as soon as you design them. Being able to hold in your hands the part you designed last meeting gives a real sense of accomplishment, especially seeing it on the robot at events.
Another thing I really value about the team is how they are willing to support your personal growth goals within a team environment. Only in my last year on the team did I start to take an interest in the website and our web infrastructure, but the team let me take it and run with it. Follow the team on IG: @frc4039
What are some of the benefits for kids that are involved in the world of robotics?
There’s a long list of benefits students can get from any robotics experience, not just our team. The one that stands out the most to me is the learning that takes place, every year you end the season with so much more knowledge than you started with. And the best part is that the knowledge you graduate with is tailored to what each student wants to learn, so whether they are going into engineering post-secondary, arts, trades, or straight to the workplace – they already have a head start on the skills they need.
How does CanSpace solve the objectives you have for your website?
CanSpace aligns with our technical needs as well as our team’s values, so working with them was the obvious choice. We started looking for a new website host in 2025, and CanSpace was the only one that ticked all the boxes on price, sustainability, customer support, and had good reviews online already. For a student team operating on a non-profit budget, cost efficiency is incredibly important, and CanSpace provides extremely good value for the services they provide. There have been a few times I have contacted the support team over issues I was experiencing on our sites, and every time they responded quickly and helpfully, regardless of where the issue came from. I remember the first time I submitted a ticket for technical support and they responded in under 10 minutes, I knew immediately that I had picked the right provider.
