So, today I had a package at my door...
 

...and, behold, it was none other than the Bimba cylinders we had ordered with our PDV in the first week of build season.

Honestly, I realize that this stuff is free, and I'm thankful for the generous donation, but "better late than never" doesn't ring quite true when "late" ends up being "two weeks after stop build day."

We're fortunate in that we ended up not needing them, but I think it very likely that delays like this could really wreck a season for a low-resource team. Any ideas for things FIRST could do to ensure they don't include PDVs for things that can't realistically be shipped in time for teams to use them?

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

"My free stuff came late... Nobody should have free stuff"

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

Technically, the kit of parts costs more than $0.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

Do you want FIRST to decline vendors who offer to give them massive amounts of free product? You can get at least $250 in free cylinders (based on McMaster prices). At almost 3000 teams, that's close to $750,000 in free product they are potentially offering each year.

Maybe they could include a warning that there is potentially extended leadtime, but it would be foolish for FIRST to say "Thanks, but no thanks". Especially to a company that has been a sponsor for something like 15 years in Bimba.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

This would be a good start. I was thinking more along the lines of having PDVs for things which are not guaranteed to ship in a reasonable time-frame be separate entirely and specified as such.

I am not suggesting that FIRST turn down all offers that they're not sure will be shipped in time. But there should be something in place to prevent stuff like this from biting teams who plan around PDV parts. There was basically no indication anywhere that BIMBA was running behind schedule and that the parts would not arrive in a reasonable time frame. That should not happen.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

I think it's a little misleading for newer teams who don't realize the lead time. I love the free stuff, but it would be nice to inform newer teams of this sort of thing.
We got our cylinders in I think 3 weeks? Not too long.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

This is why we are getting our pneumatics from Automation Direct now.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

Bimba cylinders are tricky because when you order you need to look carefully to see if the items are "in stock" or not. They will happily sell (or give via PDV) any size you request, but if the size you order is not in stock, it's probably because it's a custom size, and so you have to wait for it to be made.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

Like Cory said maybe they could put a warning on them to let teams know they may not get them in time. but for some teams it is easier to buy 2 from bimba and 2 from Mcmaster or Automation direct (assuming you need a pair for practice robot and real robot).
If you find your self not needing Cylinders one year just buy a few sizes you don't already have for prototyping or a future robot.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

We also had an issue with delays this year...our "overnighted" items became an "over-2-weeks" order.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

Two questions you always ask when ordering anything in business or robotics are price and availability. In this case price is not an issue. I learned a long time ago that just because you see something in a catalog does not mean you can get it. Checking availability is part of the design process. If Bimba lists if the item is in stock, that makes it easier. It is when somebody says you can have it in 3 days but it does not come for 3 weeks that I get irritated and learn not to trust them.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

As a mentor for a team of limited budget, I am grateful for the parts that manufacturers offer us. We also try to acknowledge them with at least an email and when possible, photos of our robots that showcase their parts. They all seem to appreciate it.

I suspect that many of them, including Bimba, get overwhelmed with requests in the weeks after kickoff. What has worked well for us, on occasion, is to purchase the parts we will absolutely need, and then plan on receiving the donated parts in time to be used as competition spares, which we would have otherwise had to purchase.

In conclusion, we try to not look too closely into the mouth of the gifted horse, and to be grateful.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

We are extremely grateful to all these vendors who give free stuff. Two years back we waited for long time not knowing when they will arrive. Few days before competition we had to buy from McMaster. Now that we know we may not receive in time, we order them after the build and keep them for following year. This year too, we go from McMaster and they shipped Bimba cylinders.

I am not sure if we checked in-stock or custom parts, that could be a possible reason for delay.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

This highlights one of the advantages of being an older team. You have a stock-pile of stuff that showed up after "ship day" "bag day"... end of season.

There is a lot of overlap in allowable products year to year, and this makes it easier once you have a bit of a stockpile on some of these COTS items.

Re: So, today I had a package at my door...
 

Its tough on low resource teams who rely on the KOP and PDV more heavily. I know in our history one year we needed to switch to different wheels on our robot but honestly couldn't afford them so one of the mentors had to foot the bill.

Most teams don't have the luxury of being able to just order what they need when they need it and bypass slower turn around from companies like Bimba.

I agree free stuff is free stuff but it does put teams in a pickle who need those parts.