Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

At the events I've been to, I've seen separate bumper sets, slip-over skirts, and velcro/snap-on reversibles on robots and in pits. I was wondering, what is the most popular option that teams choose for changing colors, and if you have a major reason why, post it!

If you have a different way of changing bumper colors and chose "Other", let us know what it is!

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

We have two different sets of bumpers we use. We mount them using drop in pins (bolts) for each individual 'side' bumper. We've found that this system works very well. We can change them out in under two minutes!

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

Team 701 prefers reversible Velcro bumpers. We do this so we do not use any space in the pit for another set, and so we do not have to use skirts which can look messy, or can come loose during a match. The nice thing about reversibles, is that we never have to think about which color our bumpers have to be. We usually change colors in queuing, but if we forget, we change them on the field when setting up the robot. We like not having to worry about bumpers that involve extra pieces, like skirts and sets. The only time we ever remove our bumpers is during inspection.

It's so convenient! We can change our colors in less than 5 seconds if we have four people, with one on each side. Probably less than 15-30 seconds for one person. We run our pit crew like NASCAR does in terms of bumpers. Wheel changing? Not so much.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

Drop the bumpers into t-slots in the side of the frame, lock nut in place once per competition. Then, reversible bumpers means we never have to run back to the pit to grab a forgotten color. Long velcro strips among the top and bottom to attach to - though I'd like to experiment and see if several short strips would hold better.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

That's pretty much what we use as well. As he mentioned, change time is pretty fast. Under two minutes every time, if not less.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

Reversibles are the fastest method I know of. Change colors in a matter of seconds, not minutes!

But I do admit, when teams have two sets that are made really nice, and the fabric is mounted nice and tight, the look is really clean. Reversibles can look clean, too, but you gotta have a person on the team who knows their way around a sewing machine. I remember making these as a student, and they can be a pain in the butt to make correctly, but the pain is worth the worry free color changing.

Velcro reversible is what we did for our summer build. It was my wife and my first time helping mentor a team, and she is almost what you could call a seamstress. She taught the kids how to make the bumpers, and make them look good.

Bolt them on and forget them. Switching from Blue to red can be done in a matter of seconds.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

I don't know if you can add another poll, but an interesting thing to see would be what teams use vs. what they would like to use.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

That's an interesting thought. Does your team have a desire to use a type of bumper, but can't or not know how to do it?

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

Personally, I'm a fan of how 2056 does their bumpers. They start out white and then print on the colors for a crisp number. I simply have no idea where you would get that service done.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

Whatever you do, make sure it's secure. There's a subtle but important change to the rules this year:

I really, really don't want to have to disable a robot because of a bumper malfunction.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

As for my team, we have simply used the same way of mounting bumpers. Haven't really considered other options. Velcro reverses do sound very convenient. I'll have to talk to my team about it when we need to make a new set. This year, we may just be using last year's again, depending on chassis dimensions.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

Another way to get crisp numbers is to get them silkscreen printed or ironed on. As for how 2056 does it, they may have some connections to people who dye fabric. You should ask one of their members for more information. They have a convenient "contact us" page on their website where you can ask them directly.

http://www.2056.ca/contact

As for my team, we use a stencil and fabric paint like many teams do.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

We took the Velcro method and changed out the Velcro to use a bungee. No more attaching Velcro or having Velcro wear out. Just add a loop to the end and fish a bungee through, hog ring the ends together and be done for the season. Video of a one person change here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYTiRxLw7oA

I have already had a request for a how to, and I will post a white paper when we build our bumpers next week.

We also use t-shirt vinyl and a vinyl cutter to create our numbers and then heat press them on.

Re: Bumper sets, skirts, or reversibles?
 

That's pretty neat! It's like a hybrid between a skirt and a reversible! How well does it stand up to the rigors of gameplay? I can't see much of a reason for regular bumping or sliding to cause the bungee cord to slip, so this looks pretty reliable. The only problem I could see is the fabric getting caught in the wheels from being pushed around. We like velcro because it anchors the fabric in a specific place, making sure it stays away from moving parts. I might get my team to try this for the season. I want to make sure I get the instructions for this, so along with posting a white paper, could you also send me a personal message?