Originally Posted by Mr V (Post 1413176)

To everyone that keeps saying that the 60" box contains either bumper fabric, or a bunch of balls stacked up I say no chance for that. A 3 x 3 x 60 box is going to be a big pain to ship since it can't lay flat on a standard pallet without hanging over. Having it hang over the pallet would increase the cost and the likelihood of damage to the items. As much as Frank likes to troll the CD community he is not going to have the KOP team box something in a manner that will make it more expensive to ship and increase the likelihood of it being damaged in shipment just to troll the members of the CD community.

So what every that item(s) is you can be pretty certain that it is close to that 60" length and that there is not a practical way to ship it in anything smaller.

So it is either a game piece, a field element that can't be easily/economically reproduced locally or some part that will need to be used on the robot in substantially the same configuration as shipped.

Originally Posted by peirvine (Post 1413180)

Noooooo



Could they be hinting at another Lunacy type game again?

Source: FIRSTweets

Originally Posted by Greg Needel (Post 1413191)

While it is fun to guess that it has something to do with the game, the only thing I can think of is that it is raw building materials.

It is not that hard of a stretch to think that some sponsor donated a bunch of 1x1 or other profile aluminum to every team.


It would be a welcome addition to the kit, since many rookie teams put the drive base together and then say "now what"

Originally Posted by Greg Needel (Post 1413191)

While it is fun to guess that it has something to do with the game, the only thing I can think of is that it is raw building materials.

It is not that hard of a stretch to think that some sponsor donated a bunch of 1x1 or other profile aluminum to every team.


It would be a welcome addition to the kit, since many rookie teams put the drive base together and then say "now what"

Originally Posted by jvriezen (Post 1412730)

I computed density for the 22x22x29 and compared to density of a case of pool noodles shipping size and weight from amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Tundra-TWLN36-...=1418226525796

Almost identical density. 64 29" noodles? Enough for two sets of bumpers for a competition and a practice bot times two. Not nearly as convinced about this. Seems like a lot noodles unless the mfgr makes them 58" and they cut the boxes in half.

Otherwise there is a lot of air in that box.

Originally Posted by mrnoble (Post 1413035)

By far the most reasonable explanation is a roll with two or more colors of fabric. Spooling fabric is the quickest, safest and most practicable way to package and ship large amounts of material. Six pounds, including the center roll and the box, is totally within reason.

It's been clear to me for a while that bumpers are an area of the competition where two problems are developing for FRC. One is the constant frustration and occasional danger that is caused by teams that come to competition with incomplete or insufficient bumpers. It is often the last thing that young teams consider in build season, and with the goal being to get all teams to pass inspection, I've seen questionable bumpers okayed for play. The other is teams that are using bumpers to gain advantage through materials and construction that augment the original purpose (protection). See this year's sailcloth experiments.

All that is to say I would not be at all surprised if bumpers were standardized, and even increased in size. Three pool noodle height, perhaps? That would also increase protection, as well as the visibility of the (larger) team numbers, both of which would be highly desirable. I'll bet that the light 29" box is also bumper material.

Originally Posted by Greg Needel (Post 1413191)

While it is fun to guess that it has something to do with the game, the only thing I can think of is that it is raw building materials.

It is not that hard of a stretch to think that some sponsor donated a bunch of 1x1 or other profile aluminum to every team.


It would be a welcome addition to the kit, since many rookie teams put the drive base together and then say "now what"

Originally Posted by mman1506 (Post 1413194)

............

Originally Posted by Greg Needel (Post 1413191)

While it is fun to guess that it has something to do with the game, the only thing I can think of is that it is raw building materials.

It is not that hard of a stretch to think that some sponsor donated a bunch of 1x1 or other profile aluminum to every team.


It would be a welcome addition to the kit, since many rookie teams put the drive base together and then say "now what"

Originally Posted by nukemknight (Post 1413161)

This thread is full of "what if." What is actually practical? Just because it is possible doesn't make it practical. FRC has come a long way since two team alliances were last seen in 2004. Going back to two team alliances would be exactly that, moving backwards. We just barely moved to four team alliances at the Championship, stepping back is not the direction this program is moving.