**FIRST EMAIL**/Advance Material List for the 2005 Competition Now Available! [Archive]

Travis Hoffman

05-01-2005, 16:46

**FIRST EMAIL**/Advance Material List for the 2005 Competition Now Available!

Hello. This is an important announcement for all FIRST Robotics Competition teams. Please share this information with the rest of your team in a timely manner. If you think that other members of your team would also like to receive these announcements, please encourage them to sign up at http://listserv.leapit.com/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?join=frcpublic.

If you would like to stop receiving these messages, please see the bottom of this message for instructions.
__________________________________________________ ____

Greetings Teams:

The Engineering Department is pleased to announce the availability of the Advance Material List for the 2005 competition. It is available on the FIRST web site at: http://www2.usfirst.org/2005comp/AdvanceBuy_r4.pdf (http://www2.usfirst.org/2005comp/AdvanceBuy_r4.pdf)

This list contains common materials required to build the robot or field elements for the 2005 competition that are not included in the kit provided by FIRST.

Happy Building!

*************************************************

Now all you speculatin'-type folk can really go to town!

jgannon

05-01-2005, 16:57

I am intrigued primarily by the quart of Sunny Summer paint (looked it up on the Behr website... it's an orangish peach), the shallow pot magnet (only one?), and the Radio Shack project enclosures. Everything else seemed like pretty standard... PVC, lumber, mounting hardware, and a square foot of Lexan. Any speculation?

<edit>
Information about the magnet from the Grainger website: "Maximum Pull 20 Pounds, Diameter 2.030 Inches, Height 0.312 Inch, Hole Diameter 0.187 Inch"
</edit>

Gamer930

05-01-2005, 17:00

Could someone copy and paste the list into a post. It seems like there is a big backup on www.usfirst.org (http://www.usfirst.org/) and my dialup connection isn't wanting to get it.

Thanks
<edit>
nevermind i got it now
FIRST Robotics Competition 2005 Advance Material List

Rev. 4 1/5/05

Item Material Quantity Cost/ea Ext. Cost Source

1 10 ft. x 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit

(Grey) PVC 10 $3.29 $32.90 Home Depot

2 1 1/4 in. PVC Schedule 40 End Cap 24 $0.51 $12.24 Home Depot

3 1in. PVC Sch. 40 Coupling (1 5/8 in. OD) 1 $0.29 $0.29 Home Depot

4 3/4 in. PVC Sch. 80 pipe (or a 3/4 in. schedule 80 PVC pipe nipple) 6 in Home Depot

5 1 ft x 1 ft x 1/4 in thick polycarbonate (Lexan) 1 $8.10 $8.10 McMaster #8574K28

6 1/4 in x 4 ft. x 8 ft. Plywood or Luan 1 $10.00 $10.00 Home Depot

7 1/2 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. Plywood 1 $15.00 $15.00 Home Depot

8 1 in. x 3 in. x 8 ft. SPF Lumber* 1 $1.97 $1.97 Home Depot

9 2 in. x 3 in. x 8 ft. SPF Lumber* 1 $1.97 $1.97 Home Depot

10 #8 x 1 1/4 in. Flat Head Wood Screw 1/2 lb. Home Depot

11 1/4 in. x 3/4 in. Hex Head Bolt 24 $0.12 $2.88 Home Depot

12 1/4 in. Washer 24 $0.05 $1.20 Home Depot

13 1/4-20 x 5/16 in. high Threaded Tee Nut 24 $0.22 $5.34 Home Depot, McMaster #90975A025

14 2 in. OD x 1/2 ( 9/32 in. ID) Fender Washer- Steel 4 $0.20 $0.80

Fastenal- Nick- 603-647-1890 or McMaster Carr www.mcmaster.com or

Ace Hardware

15 10-24 x 1.75 Flat Head Machine Screw 2 $0.10 $0.20 Home Depot or Ace Hardware

16 10-24 Elastic Stop Nut (Nylok) 5 $0.09 $0.45 Home Depot or Ace Hardware

17 10-32 x 1.75 Socket Head Cap Screw 12 $0.47 $5.64 McMaster #91255A276

18 10-32 nut 12 $0.01 $0.10 McMaster #90480A195

19 #10 Washer 2 $0.05 $0.10 Home Depot or Ace Hardware

20 4-40 x 1/4 in. Phillips head screw 4 $0.05 $0.20 Home Depot or Ace Hardware

21 4-40 x 3/8 in. Phillips head screw 1 $0.05 $0.05 Home Depot or Ace Hardware

22 4-40 nut 2 $0.05 $0.10 Home Depot or Ace Hardware

23 #4 flat washer 4 $0.05 $0.20 Home Depot or Ace Hardware

24 Shallow Pot Magnet- General P/N 376B 1 $4.85 $4.85

Grainger Cat. # 3G901, McMaster #

5685K32

25 ANSI 35 Connecting Link 1 $0.57 0.57 McMaster #6261K191

26 3/8 in dia Bolt, 5 in. long 4 Home Depot

27 Washer for 3/8 bolt 4 Home Depot

28 3/8 Elastic Stop Nut (Nyloc) for 3/8 bolt 4 Home Depot

29 1/2 in OD, 3/8 in ID hollow rod, polycarbonate (need 16 in.) 8 ft $6.40 $6.40 McMaster #8585K12

30 Behr Premium Plus Interior Flat Wall Paint- Sunny Summer (S-G-380) 1 qt Home Depot

31 4 in. x 2 in. x 1 in. Project Box 1 $2.69 $6.40 Radio Shack #270-1802

32 Lithium Multi-Purpose Grease Hardware or Auto Store

*Note: US dimensional lumber SPF (Spruce, Pine or Fir) actual size is smaller than its name

1 in. x 3 in. is approx. 3/4 in. x 2 1/2 in.

2 in. x 3 in. is approx. 1 1/2 in. x 2 1/2 in.

Madison

05-01-2005, 17:02

This list contains common materials required to build the robot or field elements for the 2005 competition that are not included in the kit provided by FIRST.

I added emphasis to the above quote. I am on my lunch break at work and don't have time to find last year's BOM release, but did it use similar language? I'm intrigued to see what sort of "robot elements" we might be required to build.

KathieK

05-01-2005, 17:04

If you're curious about the paint color, go here: http://www.behr.com/behrx/colorsmart/colorByName.jsp?colorName=sunny+summer

Skabana159

05-01-2005, 17:08

Auto grease, a project box from radio shack, 'sunny summer' paint, a hollow polycarb rod, a magnet.
These are all items that are highly abnormal for FIRST fields, in my experience.
A little research yields that you can find the color 'Sunny Summer' by searching a javascript program by the Behr company. It appears to have the rgb value E8BA16 --- awfully ugly color, IMHO.
Also, the grease suggests moving parts. I believe the project box will be used to house whatever IR component is surely to be on the field. Perhaps a robot will have to retrieve something stuck to the magnet... What is a 'Pot' Magnet, anyhow?

jgannon

05-01-2005, 17:11

What is a 'Pot' Magnet, anyhow?
"Shallow Pot Magnets are all cylindrical Alcomax permanent magnets assembled concentrically in a mild steel pot"

J Flex 188

05-01-2005, 17:13

8ft of polycarbonate rods? doesnt seem too familiar to me. heh. ah. what a great distraction from homework. though from most sites thats standard length.

Matt Adams

05-01-2005, 17:15

What about the single #35 chain link?

Weird.

Matt

team222badbrad

05-01-2005, 17:17

NO casters? YAY. No moving field components?

:D

However, this list is probably not a complete one for obvious reasons.

Travis Hoffman

05-01-2005, 17:19

It appears to have the rgb value E8BA16 --- awfully ugly color, IMHO.
Hey! That yellow color looks awfully close to our team's yellow color, you know.... That being said, I'm inclined to agree with you. :p

Jeff Rodriguez

05-01-2005, 17:20

There aren't as many big pieces as lat year, which tells me the structure on the field is much smaller, but more complicated.

dez250

05-01-2005, 17:21

Urhm...

Heres what the magnet looks like

http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/110/gfx/large/5685kc1l.gif

Venkatesh

05-01-2005, 17:21

And the plot thickens...

The paint and the lith grease caught my attention immediately. Why ugly orange paint and lith grease?

We can (and will) only speculate.

Travis Hoffman

05-01-2005, 17:32

Steve W

05-01-2005, 17:36

The magnet can be used to unlock a gate or opening device so that you can get "out" to the center. Remember the clue that was denied??? :rolleyes:

jdhawg

05-01-2005, 17:36

My guess? The magnet is meant to be installed on the robot. Points will be scored for capturing/docking with a magnetic field target during autonomous.

Maybe a Magnetic Field Target with a built-in IR Beacon??????? Oh, my head hurts just thinking about it.

Elgin Clock

05-01-2005, 17:50

Urhm...

Heres what the magnet looks like

http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/110/gfx/large/5685kc1l.gifBah.. go right to the source Dez.

http://www.grainger.com/images/products/3G899.JPG

http://www.grainger.com/images/products/3G899.JPG

Don't these usually come in the hardware dept at stores like K-Mart with hooks attached to them?

Kind of like this: http://www.eclipse-magnetics.co.uk/images/893i073v7.jpg

Joe Matt

05-01-2005, 17:55

Oh, this is going to be sweet. :)

sanddrag

05-01-2005, 18:00

I think the extensive PVC indicates that goals similar to 2004 or 2002 will be implemented again, or if not perhaps some sort of fence.

henryBsick

05-01-2005, 18:13

Items #-2,4,11,12,13,17,18 are all multiples of three...

Rickertsen2

05-01-2005, 18:17

The Pipe couplings indicate that the pipe will be used in lengths larger than 10ft.

EDIT::
NEvermind.... The couplings are a different size

I doubt this is the case, but it would be really cool if the magned was embedded in the floor and we had to use HAL sensors to figure out when we are over a certian point on the field.

It looks like there will be a raised platform but not a high one judging from the lack of support material. I picture the plywood supported by the 1x3s and 2x 3s layed on their side.

There will definately be something moving.

Judging by the aount of small hardware there willbe something small but complex.

I don't think the second thinner sheet of plywood will be supporting weight.

Jeff Waegelin

05-01-2005, 18:25

Items #-2,4,11,12,13,17,18 are all multiples of three...

Three, eh? Does this mean more than 2 alliances... or maybe more than 2 teams on an alliance? Hmmm... this all sounds a lot like the "denied" hint...

Katie Reynolds

05-01-2005, 18:33

I'm guessing item #31 is a robot part ... interesting they'd put that as part of the BOM!

#31
Item: 4 in. x 2 in. x 1 in. Project Box
Qty: 1
Cost: $2.69

And, looking at the magnet ...

"The center is out"

Hmmmm ... ;)

Mark McLeod

05-01-2005, 18:38

FIRST saw Andy Baker's Survivor video.
We're capturing greased "pigs!" The yellow paint must be for the student human player, to add realism.

Rod

05-01-2005, 19:02

Item 14 sticks to item 24

JohnBoucher

05-01-2005, 19:11

Is not the electrical PVC very rigid? Unlike the white used last year?

Bcahn836

05-01-2005, 19:14

Did last years Material List include the carpet? Because i don't see carpet listed.

dez250

05-01-2005, 19:25

no carpet is normally not included in the BOM. And if i remember right first normally will include sample squares of the different surface materials in the KOP.

--Remember In 2003 and 2004, in the "Cheap BOM" 1/8" and 1/4" pieces of plywood was used in place of HDPE, Polycarbonate and other higher priced surface materials. So dont be surprised if item 6 will 'sit' on 7 but is a seperate material in the real field BOM.

Charley

05-01-2005, 19:32

Well, aside from the "amathyst" in the hint, the yellow could be another version of the three-alliance theory.

Red, blue, yellow... the primary colors. I mean, that's kinda a FIRST thing to do. They could use it like the gaffer tape last year as some sort of guide.

jrocket567

05-01-2005, 19:33

How about the steel bars used to create the pull-up bar, or the supports for the kickball cage.. were they on the list last year?

663.keith

05-01-2005, 19:42

How about the steel bars used to create the pull-up bar, or the supports for the kickball cage.. were they on the list last year?

there was a way to create the bar in the BOM last year. I'm not too sure what you mean by the kickball cage, I assume that you mean the ball corral that sat on top of the operator station. The supports were not included in the cheap BOM. If you mean the coral that was used for the human players to access the balls, that was also not included (I don't think).

This is a very strange BOM this year, the magnet really intrigues me, I think it has something to do with autonomous mode, I don't know why, just a feeling.

Aaron Lussier

05-01-2005, 19:47

The total for everything listed is $117.95

petek

05-01-2005, 19:52

Is not the electrical PVC very rigid? Unlike the white used last year?

There's not a big difference in rigidity between white sch40 and grey. The PVC polymer is pretty much the same, except for pigments. 1-1/4 sch40 dimensions are: 1.660 OD 1.380 ID (.140 Wall) (from Carlon's datasheet (http://www.carlon.com/Specs/Spec-2B10-RNC.pdf)). The 24 caps and lack of tee and elbow fittings makes me doubt that the conduit is used for a railing...

eugenebrooks

05-01-2005, 19:57

A little research yields that you can find the color 'Sunny Summer' by searching a javascript program by the Behr company. It appears to have the rgb value E8BA16 --- awfully ugly color, IMHO.

Has anyone noticed that the yellow paint color is on the
opposite side of the color wheel for the purple glasses?
Is the project box for a purple beacon?

Mike Martus

05-01-2005, 20:08

Just remember there may be other specific parts not listed. This may only be some of it.

henryBsick

05-01-2005, 20:11

Has anyone noticed that the yellow paint color is on the
opposite side of the color wheel for the purple glasses?
Is the project box for a purple beacon?
Why would the yellow being on the opposite side of the color wheel have any effect on purple glasses?

Tuba4

05-01-2005, 20:13

Consider how a hockey goal is anchored to the rink. It is not a solid connection , but rather a magnetic one. There is a magnet embedded in the ice. There is also a magnet attached to the goal.

Perhaps there is some type of semi-movable object that will be anchored with the magnet?!?!?!?

Doug G

05-01-2005, 20:14

Just remember there may be other specific parts not listed. This may only be some of it.

Last year they supplied the balls and the beacon parts in the KOP and the year before, they gave Wire mesh samples in the KOP. So I agree there is definitely more to this than just this BOM.

For example they list a Connecting link for #35 chain. I'd assume the sprockets, chain, (and motor?) will be in the KOP. Something is moving around on the field this year!! Should be fun.

henryBsick

05-01-2005, 20:17

Manoel

05-01-2005, 20:18

That small polycarbonate sheet is also a bit strange (1 ft x 1 ft x 1/4 in), as well as lumber, I think the last time it was used was in 2003, to structure the ramp.
The magnet got me totally lost, I think something awesome is coming Saturday :)
Few people noticed that single 35 chain connecting link, it seems more like a joke (a sick one :yikes: )
Maybe that grease is to lubricate the polycarbonate rod, "need 16 inches", who knows if it will not serve as a pole for some parrot :p
And, I think the more important after the magnet, why would FIRST ask for elastic stop nuts instead of regular ones, perhaps some part of the field will be prone to rotation or vibration, or impact, or... :ahh:
Only 58 hours left... I can wait, I guess... Can't we? Course not! :D

Charley

05-01-2005, 20:23

For example they list a Connecting link for #35 chain. I'd assume the sprockets, chain, (and motor?) will be in the KOP. Something is moving around on the field this year!! Should be fun.

Something moving in the field? I've only done this one year, but it seemed like there was enough damage last year with stationary field objects and four robots.

If somethings moving, it better keep out of the way!

ahecht

05-01-2005, 20:37

Why would the yellow being on the opposite side of the color wheel have any effect on purple glasses?
Well, if there was a yellow line or target on a white or grey surface, viewing it through a purple filter would make the yellow black, and therefore very visible. A purple filter would be quite good for a sensor trying to optically detect the yellow paint.

Conversly, if you are trying to detect something against a yellow background, a purple filter would make the background appear black. Again, quite useful for an optical sensor.

Ryan Dognaux

05-01-2005, 20:39

I see magnets on your robot activating field objects... and as others have stated, something on the field is going to be moving other than the robots. Sounds pretty sweet to me already :]

andy

05-01-2005, 20:46

I wonder why 1/4 inch polycarb was specified...Standard sizes for polycarb (standard as in available at the local Home Depot/Lowes/Ace) is usually 3/16 inch and 5/16 inch...Hmmm

Why expensive and hard to use wood screws that are not that much beefier then common deck screws (specified wood screw = 5/32 inch dia vs about 1/8 inch dia for deck screws)

Also, 4-40 screws are really small, those are the size that fit through the holes in the speed controllers, I wonder what they are for.

My vote for the magnets is that they are on the robot and they trigger some sort of auton mode or score points by activating reed switches or hall effect sensors on the field. (maybe what's in the box)

Good luck everybody!
-Andy

J Flex 188

05-01-2005, 20:49

Keep in mind that this list is deceptive because its only for a basic assembly of whatever it is that we are assembly. That may mean for instance, only one goal or only one corral (for lack of better examples) so the quantities may look strange now, but they will probably make much more sense once the game is revealed and to what extent the scoring objects are used.

Manoel

05-01-2005, 20:53

Also, 4-40 screws are really small, those are the size that fit through the holes in the speed controllers, I wonder what they are for.

Good luck everybody!
-Andy

It just ocurred to me, those can be for the chain link... Who knows? :D

shamuwong

05-01-2005, 20:56

Look at all the PVC and Endcaps. Possible game pieces?

What's up with the single ANSI 35 connecting link?

:ahh: :confused:

Astronouth7303

05-01-2005, 20:57

Based on the chain, the grease, and the project box, I'm going to venture that the field is going to be more interactive this year. And what's going in the box?

I've also heard it suggested that the paint is so that the IR doesn't reflect as much.

Vince lau

05-01-2005, 21:04

maybe the IR sensors will move around the field

Max Lobovsky

05-01-2005, 21:06

Everyone obsessing over clues and the BOM lists seems to forget that there is a much wider range of games then ones we seem to be restricting our thought (in orders of magnitude, robot size 10^0 feet, weight, 10^2 lbs, field size, 10^1 feet, power 10^2 watts, etc.) But the BOM seems to indicate that we are still dealing wiht a similarly sized field (lots of 10 ft pipe, 4x8 plywood, and 8 foot pieces of lumber.)

Of course, there are plenty of reasons for FIRST not modifying the game significantly, but I don't think the general stuff was a given

sanddrag

05-01-2005, 21:28

I think with the relatively small amount of materials (in relation to previous years) that the field will be mostly flat.

663.keith

05-01-2005, 21:34

I think with the relatively small amount of materials (in relation to previous years) that the field will be mostly flat.

I agree, I think that we will have some small complex element on the field. Whatever happens, its going to be crazy!

andy

05-01-2005, 21:53

What startles me the most, is the SIZE of the parts not the parts themselves. I wonder if the dimensions will be different this year (smaller) because the field parts are smaller?

Peter Matteson

05-01-2005, 22:13

My theory:
We're going to have a moving wall in the middle of the field the field. It will rotate on a pivot and will have clearance beneath it for shorter robots like the 2003 bar.

Swampdude

05-01-2005, 22:21

Yes this field uses substantially less material than the 2004 BOM (http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/2004/bom_lowcostfield.htm) required.

I can see the caps acting as almost a ladder rung retainer (if the pipe were penetrating wood on both ends, then capped on the outsides)

I'll bet the box will house a battery powered portable and durable beacon for field use - or have something to do with the magnet trigger

I'll bet that 12x12 lexan is a pressure plate, possibly a base as in "baseball"

and the magnet will be used in a triggering device on that plate, wired up to something that would trip a feature?

those (2) 3x? 8' long boards seem like a pedestal thats capped with the 4x8 plywood and layered with the 1/4" to brace the penetrated PVC.

One bold prediction is the lack of large field objects might mean an abundance of game pieces. Man I hope the people who said baseballs weren't right.

I think were making some sort of basket or ladder thing on top of the very low (2 1/2" high maybe) pedestal to collect said game pieces.

this clear field is also a good indicator of 6 bots at a time, to give more playing room.

Although it's safe to assume this is enough equipment for you to build test features and not necessarily full playing field objects.

I think the chain link is just to throw us off.

BTW I just happen to have a purple piece of clear film, which I looked through at the BEHR yellow sample color on the white background, and it made no difference, it just gave everything a purple hue but i still saw yellow and white and everything else

dubious elise

05-01-2005, 23:15

#31
Item: 4 in. x 2 in. x 1 in. Project Box
Qty: 1
Cost: $2.69

the cost is 2.69, the paint is yellow, the glasses were purple.....could this be a sign for cooney robotics? ;)
this field seems like it is going to be pretty complex and quite involved, i can see now why people have been saying that the fields may be smaller. my question is whether this field will make it too hard for rookie teams to work on. oh, and one more, aren't magnets generally considered to be a hazard around electronic components (eg: the controllers, etc)? it seems like an odd piece to implement.

ahecht

05-01-2005, 23:50

BTW I just happen to have a purple piece of clear film, which I looked through at the BEHR yellow sample color on the white background, and it made no difference, it just gave everything a purple hue but i still saw yellow and white and everything else
That's because I am an idiot. Purple light is not the opposite of yellow paint. Yellow paint reflects red and green, purple film accepts red and blue. Therefore yellow paint will not appear black through purple film, it would appear red. Green paint would be the opposite of purple film (and blue film would be the opposite of yellow paint).

Rich Kressly

05-01-2005, 23:57

Sunny Summer!!!!!
A color that ugly can only mean one thing ...
Inflatable Clowns!!!!!!!!!!!
(or Lavery's painting his house)

jgannon

06-01-2005, 00:10

My guess? The magnet is meant to be installed on the robot. Points will be scored for capturing/docking with a magnetic field target during autonomous.
If the magnet is meant to be installed on the robot, why aren't they including it in the Kit of Parts? Nonetheless, I still like that idea. Anything involving scoring in autonomous would be awesome.

Eric Brummer

06-01-2005, 00:34

MikeDubreuil

06-01-2005, 00:35

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic (http://www.firstwiki.org/Image:Ladder_logic_structure.jpg)?

Joel J

06-01-2005, 01:00

ebmonon36

06-01-2005, 01:07

Maybe the color of the paint doesn't matter at all. FIRST talked with Behr paints and they decided on an "ugly" color most likely to be found and under used by normal painting. OK so we know FIRST is calculated enough that the color would matter.
I don't think that the color being the most ugly would matter. Most of the paint at Home Depot is mixed when you go to buy it.
Eric

Will Hanashiro

06-01-2005, 01:14

we're playin paintball: robot style!!!

the robots are going to be runnin around... throwin paint on eachother, and we pre-spray our robots with the grease to make sure the paint rubs off easily at the end. hehee :ahh: :D :ahh:

imagine each team havin a different color paint to use... then we'd have some wildstang colored bots drivin around

just kiddin guys.

Hinkel Y.

06-01-2005, 04:58

The paint is a flat paint, which won't reflect IR light like glossy. Last year there was a big problem with the light reflecting everywhere at competitions.

imagine each team havin a different color paint to use...
In that case, our team wants to reserve white and red paint :D

Peter Matteson

06-01-2005, 08:02

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic (http://www.firstwiki.org/Image:Ladder_logic_structure.jpg)?

24 PVC end caps sized for the ten pieces of conduit and and only 1 coupling? No elbows that I can see listed. I don't think we'll have much more than straight runs unless they have conduit elbows in the kit which seems unlikely.

MikeDubreuil

06-01-2005, 08:35

24 PVC end caps sized for the ten pieces of conduit and and only 1 coupling? No elbows that I can see listed. I don't think we'll have much more than straight runs unless they have conduit elbows in the kit which seems unlikely.
Yeah, but by your same argument; what are the other 8 pipes connected to- nothing? I'd have to presume either many parts are in the kit or a revised field parts list is coming out.

I'm no expert in building materials but I would assume that 10ft sections of pipe are the largest that the average person can easily transport. I'm guessing they won't stay that size and the field blueprints will require teams to cut up the 10ft sections into something smaller.

Joshua May

06-01-2005, 09:31

In addition to such strange items as the 35 ANSI chain link connector, the magnet, and the project box, I'm especially intrigued by the paint and the square foot of Lexan. As far as the paint, I'm mostly interested in the fact that only 1 quart is listed, that's a fairly small amount, I think. And this square foot of Lexan, that's smaller than the footprints of the robots (for previous years anyways). In comparison to the field (at least from 2003 and 2004) that's pretty small in size.

Oh, I just can't wait until Saturday.

Katie Reynolds

06-01-2005, 10:07

As far as the paint, I'm mostly interested in the fact that only 1 quart is listed, that's a fairly small amount, I think.One quart of paint will cover about 96 square feet, on a non-porous surface.

phrontist

06-01-2005, 10:17

That square foot of lexan is going to be a base, as in baseball. Robots will have to "tag" the base magnetically, or maybe they can detect when they are on the base through a Hall Effect sensor or Reed switch.

Joe Ross

06-01-2005, 10:25

What part did Dave Lavery see when he first walked into Home Depot?

Aignam

06-01-2005, 18:45

A few thoughts:

Has FIRST ever thrown in "decoy" parts like some people are hypothesizing? It doesn't sound like it would be a terribly intelligent idea to just throw away money like that for the sole purpose of deceiving us...

Perhaps there is more to the necessary parts that has yet to be revealed? Maybe one robot will have to tag the base which triggers something else on the field (perhaps involving the chain?), which their alliance partner must handle? Or we could see robots that could do both? The return of the mini-bot (think 2002) perhaps?

Adam Y.

06-01-2005, 18:46

I really hope the project light isn't for an infrared beacon. I remember reading somewhere that radioshack project boxes are actually transparent to infrared light despite being opaque to visible light.
The paint is a flat paint, which won't reflect IR light like glossy. Last year there was a big problem with the light reflecting everywhere at competitions.
Yeah but the paint isn't going to help. I can get my infared remote control to reflect of of flat paint walls.:)

Max Lobovsky

06-01-2005, 18:54

I really hope the project light isn't for an infrared beacon. I remember reading somewhere that radioshack project boxes are actually transparent to infrared light despite being opaque to visible light.

If there were multiple boxes in the BOM, and that was true, that would add a lot of weight to the robots-distinguish-between-objects-indistinguishable-by-eye theory.

Paradox1350

06-01-2005, 18:56

ChrisH

06-01-2005, 19:23

A lot of people have been talking about the 35 ANSI Chain Loink connector. If you look it up on McMaster (http://www.mcmaster.com) you can see that it's a part for holding something up, or lifting something. Perhaps there will be something suspended in the air?

Try typing in the part number, not the name. You will see that it is a connecting link for #35 roller chain.

ChrisH

Skabana159

06-01-2005, 22:47

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic (http://www.firstwiki.org/Image:Ladder_logic_structure.jpg)?

I would find this extremely hard to believe. I think it is well precedented that robots be barred for even touching the PVC parts, much less putting thier entire weight on them. Remeber how we had to grab steel bars on the soccer ball game

kmcclary

07-01-2005, 17:49

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic (http://www.firstwiki.org/Image:Ladder_logic_structure.jpg)? Doubt it. And not enough connectors to make a complex PVC "ball" to grab either, unless wood is involved.

I'm going to assume the PVC is EITHER for yet another goal with fingers pointed up, or else up to 12 "rungs" on a ladder with wooden sides. Holes in the wood and the caps nicely act as retainers for a ladder. You also have enough plywood again for a 4x4' by two layer base again, to form a static version of last year's rolling goal.

Note that the only significant steel in the BOM is the four washers (item 14).
Their 2" diameter would nicely work with the magnet.

One possibility is that the washers are mounted in various positions on the static item, and that the magnet is attached to the box, making a grabbing "token" that can have up to four separate positions.

Another interesting thing to note is that you can EXACTLY cover two sides of the plastic box with the four washers (two per side), to make a box that can be easily PLACED onto the magnet by the robot.

I HIGHLY doubt that the magnet goes on the robot. A good use for it would be to have either Hall Effect sensors or Reed Switch in the kit, and DETECT the magnet with the robot.

But, I'm pretty sure that the washers and the magnet do go together.

Hey... You could make a "magnetically selectable" device of some kind with four detent positions! Imagine a "selector switch" for three alliances and Zero, that robots would have to "set" to determine who would own the points in the goal. (Probably not that much fun though... You'd be fighting over the "switch", or hovering over it.)

Since there is no chain included, the ANSI 35 link is probably a "poor man's coupler/hinge", to add a degree of freedom to something small on the assembly.

BTW... Does anyone here think that the quantities of the 4-40 and 10-24 nuts are misprinted?? There are (5) 4-40 screws and (2) 10-24 screws, but the OPPOSITE quantities of nuts for them.

- Keith

dubious elise

07-01-2005, 20:16

after some discussions i had today, i really think that those PVC endcaps will be for short pieces that would be used as game/scoring pieces, like the balls were last year. i was told that we would need 1000 endcaps overall to build the entire field, though only 24 are listed on the advance materials list.

Max Lobovsky

07-01-2005, 20:26

You were told? by whom?

dubious elise

07-01-2005, 20:49

great question max. a mentor stated today that she recieved a follow-up email concerning the list that stated this figure and also said that you would need 100-150 encaps minimum to build a practice field. i'm not a big advocate of spreading erroneous rumors, so if any of you can verify/denounce this, please let me know!

Max Lobovsky

07-01-2005, 20:57

Sounds pretty specious. You'd think it would be posted about if anyone else had heard it...

Barry Bonzack

07-01-2005, 22:26

I think with the relatively small amount of materials (in relation to previous years) that the field will be mostly flat.

if its a mostly flat field with fewer objects, would that make for more room for 6 robots on the field at the same time?

rees2001

07-01-2005, 22:30

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic (http://www.firstwiki.org/Image:Ladder_logic_structure.jpg)?

With all of this talk about the PVC, magnet, the washers that go "with" the magnet, the endcaps, the polycarb tube...why has nobody pointed out the schedule 80 PVC tube, which btw is NOT available at our local Home Depot.
Everything else has been pretty easy to get, Looks like I'll need to contact a plumbing supply or electrical supply store.

& yes I believe the chain the magnet & the 2 washers go together.