Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

That's the problem, they do. Your bumpers have to be outside this perimeter. Only exception allowed is in the bumper zone.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

No because they are excluded from the FRAME PERIMETER while in the BUMPER ZONE

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

Bruce,
We inspect to the GDC rulings listed in the rules as revised, Team Updates and Q&A.
We do not inspect to what teams would like, expect, wish, or pray for. Sorry but that leaves far too much to inspect.

And Oh by the way, the bolt heads in the Bumper Zone that protrude through the FRAME PERIMETER must still fit in the sizing box. See sentence one.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

Al, I read the 50 some page thread on this frame perimeter/bolt head thing and it leaves my head spinning. As it sits, robots with a flat side 20 inches tall that have rivets all over the side are illegal because the rivets in the bumper zone are excluded from the frame perimeter and then the rivets outside the bumper zone are now outside the frame perimeter and therefor illegal. It realy makes no sense. I guess we'll have to disturb our beautiful design and all some ugly strips of something in the bumper zone to redefine the frame perimeter.
Bruce

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

Bruce, You can move to flat head screws outside the bumper zone.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

Or countersunk rivets.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

Ok,
Time for another round since no else is posting for the LIST.

The Crio and Camera must be isolated from the robot frame. There shall be no electrical connection to the robot frame. Check with a VOM with the battery removed. You should measure greater than 100 K ohms from either terminal of the PD to the frame of the robot.

The battery must be wired with the SB50 connectors supplied in the KOP. All primary wiring (Battery to breaker to PD) must be a minimum of #6 wire.

Battery terminals and other exposed electrical contacts need to be insulated. The preferred method of using the battery charger is to replace the alligator clips with an SB50 connector like the one that is used to connect with the battery.

The main circuit breaker for the robot and the pressure vent valve if you use pneumatics, must be easily accessible from outside the robot.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

OK, I'll add my $.02.

Please, please, please....did I say Please? Have your BOM already printed BEFORE you get to the regional. There is no guarantee that anyone will have a printer.

Last year, at Championship, I found two robots that didn't follow this rule :ahh: One was a shorted wire to frame.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

Wayne,

That rule has changed and you are now required to submit it electronically on a USB drive.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

I must have missed that memo :D

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

I have a couple...

1) If you haven't read the rules, do it again. This time, pre-inspect your robot. Better yet, get someone on another team to do that. This will highlight potential issues.

2) Have that BOM ready for the inspectors. Better yet, have it on USB beforehand, so that you can just plug and chug to get it to them.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

If anything even looks close to breaking the plane of your FRAME PERIMETER, do a simple "wall test" - push the robot against the wall (without bumpers) and make sure it doesn't. Any moving parts that may look like they break the plane - do the same thing, only run them through their entire motion.

Check your software/firmware version numbers. Make sure everything is up to date that needs to be (the cRio image, the driver station, and the Jaguars, if you're using CAN).

Check for a possible 3" ball incursion in ALL locations of your robot. Take a ball and roll it around every inch of your robot, not just your kicking mechanism! Pay special attention on the corners and in front of the wheels - i suspect this is where many teams will get tripped up.

Double and triple check your safety mechanisms. A lot of teams will have moving parts that store significant amounts of energy before release - ensure that you have sufficient safety mechanisms in place that they cannot be fired accidentally! A good rule of thumb is any safety mechanism should be able to withstand 2-3 times the amount of anticipated force.

That's all i have to add... for now :)

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

With updates 6 and 7 the wall test does not work any more. Bolt heads/rivets in the bumper zone do not factor into the frame perimeter. If you have any bolt heads/rivets in the bumper zone that are hitting the wall at the same time as bolt heads/rivets outside the bumper zone then those outside the bumper zone are outside the frame perimiter and thus illegal.
Bruce

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

Naturally use your best judgment... but a wall test can certainly give you enough information to figure out if you have a problem or not. A 1/4 inch difference from protruding bolts can easily be measured off a flat wall if you're worried - it's a lot harder to "eyeball" a vertical plane.

Re: Al's Annual Inspect before you ship! thread.
 

Alright. Nobody move! I have a six foot level and I know how to use it!