pic: New low bar flaps
 

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

Is there no aluminum bar anymore? That might mess with a few robots going under.

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

Do they easily spin around the bar? From my point of view our design criteria of 14" just got cut shorter...

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

They seem to flip around the bar pretty easy.

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

This looks terrible. I thought FIRST was concerned about the aesthetics of the field this year?

Has anyone tried bowling a ball through the flaps yet?

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

I have a question that might be silly, but I may have missed something big. I admit I can't read every thread on CD (Sorry I'm slacking...)

Why is FIRST changing the low bar flap?

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

In week 1 the low bar flaps were shredded by teams at pretty much every event. Some events made new flaps out of bumper fabric (MUCH more durable), others ran without them entirely. This new design was FIRST's solution for week 2'

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

I'll assume you've been busy the last week. The cloth from the original flap was somewhat flimsy and easily torn by robots. Apparently by robots you wouldn't think would poke holes and tear through the flaps. The GDC came up with this solution instead of trying tougher cloth for the original style of flaps. This decision has been somewhat controversial.

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

Part of the reason is that they needed to send the right amount of material to 24 DIFFERENT events on less than one week's notice. They were able to source something that works from McMaster Carr, a company uniquely adapted to filling this kind of panic induced rapid shipment of something.

TL;DR I ordered a roll from McMaster last night at about 5:30pm an I had it in my grimy hands by 9:30am this morning. That's a 16 hour from ordered to delivered 500 miles away.

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

Plus it needed to be able to be implemented in the field with items in case 8, so your basic hand tools, a drill, zip ties, and gaff tape.

That is the reason that any sort of cloth which would require a sewing machine was ruled out, in my opinion.

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

/snicker. I never really considered McM-C business model to be "we have everything and when you are in a frenzy we can have it to you in 12 hours" but it seems to work.

I'm not sure that I would have put the zip ties on the top, that looks like a snag magnet. If they get snapped off they can learn and not put them back on the flaps.

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

I missed this update.

What are they actually made of?

Looks a lot like ABS sheet that I've used on so many robots. In 0.020" thickness it comes in rolls and it's pretty cheap ($2 per ft for 6" wide strips)

Dr. Joe J.

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

It's vinyl sheet. The changes were detailed in the most recent team update: https://firstfrc.blob.core.windows.n...Updates/15.pdf

It can be found/purchased here: http://www.mcmaster.com/#1894a214/=11hewcj

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

I did the same thing. Now I have a roll of this stuff to redo our practice bar with. It cost around $45 for the roll as I recall. plus some shipping.
We get that same kind of service from MC up here in Washington too.
In fact most of the time I order parts from MC we get them the next day even without asking for express shipping.

Re: pic: New low bar flaps
 

Why did they remove the lower bar. Many teams designed there robot so that the bar would slide over there robot. Without that is could cause a major entanglement issue