Bane Bots Gear boxes not allowed?

[Skute327]

I am hearing rumors that we are no longer allowed to use the banebots gearboxes. I know people had a lot of problems with them in the past but my team has had great sucess with them last year. I cant seem to find where in the manual this is mentioned. Has any one else found this or can confirm that this is true.

thanks.

[Tristan Lall]

It depends on the model. If you're considering using the ones provided in the kit last year, it has been mentioned that these are no longer available from a legal vendor (verify this for yourself). That makes them non-COTS, and specifically illegal if they were originally made for FRC (per <R36>). If they were not FRC-specific, then they can be used if unmodified, since they were previously COTS parts. I don't know whether FIRST made a custom order for those parts, or if BaneBots was previously selling them anyway, so you'll need to find out which case applies to you.

If you're looking into something in BaneBots current product line (which includes improved versions of the gearboxes donated last year), then it just needs to meet the parts utilization rules (like any other purchased item on the robot).

[Kims Robot]

Technically this is correct, the KOP models are no longer available. We ordered the gearboxes, but in talking to banebots they have tweaked the designs somewhat. From the outside they wont appear different, but they have made some design improvements from last years models, and provided different shaft sizes.

The short of it, if you buy them from banebots after kickoff, they are perfectly legal COTS items. If you want to use the KOP ones from last year, they are no longer available to all teams, and therefore not legal.

[Joe G.]

According to the Q-A: (http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?p=12600#post12600)

is there anything against using the 2007 or 2006 transmissions?

The BaneBots planetary transmissions (like those provided in the 2007 KoP) are commercially available and any revision may be used. The 2006 transmissions are not commercially available and therefore may not be used.

Sounds like the differances are considered insignifigant by the GDC

[keen101]

If you buy NEW ones from banebots they are legal COTS items. If you scrap them off last years robot, I don't think they are legal, but probably could be legal replacement parts. I think.