TEAM 2120 UK, MAJOR PANIC HELP!!!

[campsmount]

Just had an email of someone who has said we may have a MAJOR PINCH hazard on our hand with our scissor mechanism we have used.

We will be at Chesapeake so will see you there.

SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!!!! HELP!!!!!:confused:

Cheers

Si (Team Mentor) 2120

UK TEAM!!

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j102/shuntridge/n604842941_601753_4868.jpg

[Rinaldi 427]

if you have time you can cover it with a bit of aluminum or plastic and thn place decals on the cover warning of a pinch hazard

[EricH]

Put guarding on. If that is not possible, advertise that the pinch points are there with yellow and black stripes or something similar. Also, Q&A answered a similar question (http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?p=15038) yesterday.

[campsmount]

HMMMMM.

WARNING STICKERS ALL OVER IT.

Glad to see your robot is pure student built as we proud ourselves of that to, just left to us mentors to panic wildly at the last minutes after hours of hard work.:ahh:

Any other suggestions from anyone would be gratefully received.

Cheers

Si.

[Jaybee1405]

Simon, this is Joe. It's not a major problem, the rules even suggest you to use striped tape to point out pinch points.

The inspectors are looking for an effort on your part to protect these pinch points and demonstrate safety.

[campsmount]

Hope the tape will do the trick as we are pretty much up to the top of the weight limit already.

Will also possibly put some limit bolts in so that it cant fully close?!?!

Lets hope that no-one gets there head in it, ha ha :D

KEEP THE SUGGESTIONS COMING IN, we will be doing the last bit of work in the morning.

DONT PANIC KIDS, leave that to me!!

[seanl]

yea that was a serious problem for us last year we put in some decals that pointed out the pinch point. we wanted to see what it would do to a finger so we experimented with some bones and every single one got crushed into 2 pieces it would be very painful/dangerous to put your finger in there.

[campsmount]

I can just see your robot in your profile pic and i looks the same.

I will take some carrots in tomorrow and experiment with them, hope they do not get broke to much!!!

Did you get away with just the stickers on it for the judges?!?!

Cheers

Si.

[MrForbes]

Hope the tape will do the trick as we are pretty much up to the top of the weight limit already.

Will also possibly put some limit bolts in so that it cant fully close?!?!

It appears to me that if you do mechanically limit the travel so that it cannot compress more than is shown in the picture, then you cover the holes near the center and the bars they would "slice" with black/yellow warning tape, it will probably be acceptable.

I'm not an inspector, though!

[seanl]

last year it did but i dont know about this year. and that carrots gonna make a huge mess..when we tried it out we put the bone in a ziplock bag so we dont make a mess.

[Elgin Clock]

I can think of at least 3 things you can do to prevent injuries as much as possible in this situation.

1) Use bungee cords, or some kind of locking mechanism to keep your scissor mechanism down while lifting the robot so it won't be an issue.

2) Establish safe points on the robot to act as handles while carrying the robot. Anywhere but near the scissor arms basically, and away from a drivetrain.

3) For safety's sake, put some of these (or similar markings) on your robot where you think the biggest dangers would be located, or better yet, have some with you and when you get to your competition, ask the inspector where the best location would be to put them.

http://www.speedysigns.com/images/osha/large/WARNING043.gif


Work with the inspectors, & not against them with this, and you will be just fine.

[D_Price]

Yeah that really is not a major problem...just put yellow and black tape so that the judges can see...

[acekush8]

Try using silicon spray or a spray lubricant

[campsmount]

We have placed some warning stickers on it today and then put in some bolts to limits the closing of it, i.e. it cant fully shut avoiding the shearing / pinching action.

Do you thing this may work??

[campsmount]

ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREAT ON THIS SLIGHTLY PANIC INDUCED MADNESS< EEEEEK

[EricH]

That should work. On the design you have, it'll be close to impossible to fully shield the pinch points, so this is the next best thing.

[campsmount]

Our robot now has all its warning stickers on it and looks like some kind of mad bubble bee?!?!

[Dan Richardson]

Your bot is very shiny and awesome looking, I think I would let it pinch me just because of the pure awesome that may be bestowed upon me.

Seriously tho, its not a huge issue tape or ( watch out signs ) are fine, I think everyone can get pinched somewhere on their bot if their hand is in the wrong place.

[SteveGPage]

Our robot now has all its warning stickers on it and looks like some kind of mad bubble bee?!?!


Nothing wrong with looking like a "mad bumble bee"!!

Seriously, we - Team 836 (The RoboBEES!) will be at Chesapeake. If you need assistance, we can certainly help. I've already told some of my guys (and gals, too!) to see if you need a hand during the competition.

If you need anything, don't hesitate to come to our pit - the one that looks like a 'mad' bee hive! :)

Best regards,

Steve

[campsmount]

THANKS FOLKS!!!!

A huge massive British thank you very much old chaps to all that have help us out with this problem.

We seem to have it just about sorted, well lets hope so as it is now on its way to the US!!

Cheers and thanks again.

Simon Huntridge (Mentor)

[MegaSparks]

We built in small eye bolts and had lifting handles that would hook through the eyes to keep your hands away from the mechanisms last year. We also used a bunge cord to hold things together before and after the matches. Always wear gloves when moving or positioning your robot during the competitions so if something bad would happen you might be able to get your hands out of the gloves before damage is done.

Inspectors want to see your robot on the field playinmg the game so work with them to address any concerns they have. The lead inspector will usually have suggections on how to fix the issue so you can compete.

[Richard Wallace]

Simon, in which part of Yorkshire (North, South, or West) does your team reside?