Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

Is the use of electrical tape as a non-functional decoration legal?
We drew designes on the side of our robot in it, and were told that it was against the rules... Can we do so at nationals?

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

Personally, I would be concerned that the tape would loosen and fall off the robot. Electrical tape isn't all that known for its adhesive abilities, particularly in the heat on the field, and you wouldn't want your robot making a trail as it drove. What about paint or some other decoration like that?

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

these are all the rules in the manual about non-functional decorations. none of these imply that decorations cannot consist of tape. so i would say yes you can have them at Nat's.

p.s. good job yesterday. it was fun! :D

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

Thanks... Good job to you guys too.

and to the tape falling from the robot thing, we went throught the entire pittsburgh regional with it on there and none came off...

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

i also found this:
in this thread http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/24276

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

<R33> disallows tape in all instances except for 4 exceptions. Non-functional decorations is not one of the exceptions.

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

now that i see that i am not sure. i would ask a first official who has a very good understanding o the rules

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

We used electrical tape on our helix to make the whole thing look black and nobody said anything, so I think it's okay.

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

Just paint or Sharpie those lines back on to your bot. They looked cool.

The Philly Lead Inspector was the one who told you to take the tape off and he was correct in doing so. It is not legal. I should have noticed that tape at Pitt (although I only checked off your firmware upgrade) and told you to take it off then. It is not even legal to use tape to hold your logos on the bot and that is difficult for many teams. <R33> allows you to use tape only where it is necessary and if it was allowed as a decoration it would be used inappropriately but legally.

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

Ok... Thanks :) We will find another medium to use for the lines... be it sharpie or paint or "decorative stripping"... thanks for the clarification :)

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

Interesting. We've always wondered about this, because we've used tape as decorations for the past two years. Last year it was for numbers and this year it was on the top of our hopper (which is clear) so that we could see the top easily. Both passed inspection. When in doubt however, you could always just use foam tape

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

I've always thought the FIRST rules have been pretty clear on this although pretty anal. However, it's always been a bit annoying to get to the competition and see that most inpectors seem to ignore it. Another peeve in the same vein is the robot numbers. A good number of robots don't conform to the rules specifying how the numbers are to be displayed yet are passed by the inspectors.

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

I was reading the inspection manual and just ran across this:

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

Cody,
Inspectors have allowed the use of electrical tape to satisfy the team number requirement for many years. Hence the requirement that the team numbers have a 3/4" stroke and be at least 4" high. In all other cases, the rules apply to electrical tape use for insulation.

Re: Electrical tape as a non-functional decoration
 

We put electrical tape around the edges of our lexan sides when the judges said that they were a bit too sharp. They let it slide, but they said that they really didn't like it. After our next match we took it all off and used sandpaper to smooth down the edges.

My point is, even if you may be able to get through inspection by going a tad outside the rules, you should try not to. The rules are there for a reason, so you should try to obey all of them.