Legality of modifying the Jaguar cases

[computerish]

Is it legal to drill holes to enlarge the mounting holes on Jaguars? We couldn't find anything saying we couldn't but we wanted to check.

Thanks!

[apalrd]

I think [R58] prevents this:

The control system is designed to allow wireless control of the Robots. The Driver Station software,
FirstTouch I/O module, cRIO, speed controllers, relay modules, wireless bridge, and batteries shall
not be tampered with, modified, or adjusted in any way (tampering includes drilling, cutting,
machining, gluing, rewiring, disassembling, etc.), with the following exceptions...

[bmxer51]

Just Velcro them all down. Its way easier to switch them out when they catch on fire which is inevitable by the jags... We cover the entire electronics board on Velcro so we can move them around as needed.

[the man]

Some thing to remember is to not remove the screws for attaching the motor and battery leads all the way. That will cause them to burn up.

[bmxer51]

How else are you supposed to attach the circle connectors to them?

[CalTran]

Er, exactly why would you need to enlarge the mounting holes?

[Jim Wilks]

Some thing to remember is to not remove the screws for attaching the motor and battery leads all the way. That will cause them to burn up.

Why do you say this?

[Joe Ross]

Some thing to remember is to not remove the screws for attaching the motor and battery leads all the way. That will cause them to burn up.

That is only true for the old (tan) jaguars. This can be seen in the Jaguar FAQ (http://www.ti.com/lit/an/spma033a/spma033a.pdf) (in the answer to question 1).

How else are you supposed to attach the circle connectors to them?

For the tan jaguars, use a fork connector. If you do remove the screws to use ring terminals, carefully vacuum out any debris.

[vhcook]

How else are you supposed to attach the circle connectors to them?

You aren't meant to use ring lugs (the circle connectors) on the tan Jaguars. I regret this, as ring lugs are excellent for high vibration applications, but the design of the prevents it. The tan Jaguars use a color-coded "captive screw" arrangement in which the screws are not supposed to be fully removable to prevent mixing up the color code. Successfully removing the screws causes the release of small metal fragments from the hidden part that is supposed to hold them in, which can get into the innards of the Jaguar and release the magic smoke.

The correct lug is a "spade" lug, which has an end shaped like a U. You loosen the screw slightly and slide the metal tabs underneath, then tighten vigorously.

ETA: I am happy to know that the black jags will permit ring lugs. Thanks, Joe.

[the man]

I still dont trust um. :D

[Jon Stratis]

Some thing to remember is to not remove the screws for attaching the motor and battery leads all the way. That will cause them to burn up.

This was true with the brown jags from the first year we had them - they were made with captive screws, and removing them entirely could result in small metal shavings being removed from the screws (and thus cause internal shorts that could cause problems). However, the black jags do NOT have captive screws, and they can be safely removed without any worry.

[otherguy]

Why do you say this?

The tan Jags had this recommendation in the documentation. The screws were not supposed to be unscrewed all the way, by design. The concern was that if the screws were removed all the way metal shavings would be dropped inside the controllers case.

This is no longer a concern with the Black Jaguars, the screws can be removed completely without issue.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Is it legal to drill holes to enlarge the mounting holes on Jaguars? We couldn't find anything saying we couldn't but we wanted to check.

Thanks!

By now you have determined that it is a violation of the rules to do so. I would recommend that you disassemble a failed Jag and peer inside to see what might have occurred if you enlarged the holes before asking. It is always fun to take things apart.