Chief Delphi - Can a sledge hammer be used?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wzup4021 (Post 1332095)

•R13
ROBOT elements created before Kickoff are not permitted. ROBOT elements, including software, that are designed before Kickoff are not permitted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wzup4021 (Post 1332095)

This can't possible apply to 3rd party manufactured elements. I'm 100% positive those extra Talons you ordered were made before Jan. 4th. Those pistons? Made before Jan. 4th. Wouldn't a sledge hammer fall into the same category as stuff such as this?

The blue box below this:

Quote:

Please note that this means that FABRICATED ITEMS from ROBOTS entered in previous FIRST competitions may not be used on ROBOTS in the 2014 FRC. Before the formal start of the FRC Build Season, Teams are encouraged to think as much as they please about their ROBOTS. They may develop prototypes, create proof-of-concept models, and conduct design exercises. Teams may gather all the raw stock materials and COTS COMPONENTS they want.

Example 1: A Team designs and builds a two-speed shifting transmission during the fall as a training exercise. After Kickoff, they utilize all the design principles they learned in the fall to design their ROBOT. To optimize the transmission design for their ROBOT, they improve the transmission gear ratios and reduce the size, and build two new transmissions, and place them on the ROBOT. All parts of this process are permitted activities.

Example 2: The same Team realizes that the transmission designed and built in the fall perfectly fits their need for a transmission to drive the ROBOT arm. They build an exact copy of the transmission from the original design plans, and bolt it to the ROBOT. This would be prohibited, as the transmission – although made during the competition season – was built from detailed designs developed prior to Kickoff.

Example 3: A Team developed an omni-directional drive system for the 2011 competition. Over the summer of 2011 they refined and improved the control software (written in C) to add more precision and capabilities. They decided to use a similar system for the 2014 competition. They copied large sections of unmodified code over into the control software of the new ROBOT (also written in C). This would be a violation of the schedule constraint, and would not be allowed.

Example 4: The same Team decides to use LabVIEW as their software environment for 2014. Following Kickoff, they use the previously-developed C code as a reference for the algorithms and calculations required to implement their omni-directional control solution. Because they developed new LabVIEW code as they ported over their algorithms, this would be permitted.

Example 5: A different Team develops a similar solution during the fall, and plans to use the developed software on their competition ROBOT. After completing the software, they post it in a generally accessible public forum and make the code available to all Teams. Because they have made their software publicly available before Kickoff, they can use it on their ROBOT.

(Emphasis mine) We can use any COTS components or raw materials manufactured before kickoff, provided that they are not modified. If we do anything to the part before kickoff, it becomes a FABRICATED PART and can not be used.