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

Okay, there seems to be a large amount of confusion regarding this.

If we have a bolt head that sticks out on the other side of our frame YET IS WITHIN the overall footprint allowed by competition (36x28 or whatever it is), this is illegal?

I have been getting a lot of calls regarding this rule.

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

If it sticks out in the BUMPER ZONE, you are OK.

If it is less than 10" or more than 16" off the ground, it's no good.

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

Here's mine:

<R76>... All working air must be provided through one primary Norgren adjustable pressure regulator.

The Norgren is the all black one; the one with the silver body is the Monnier secondary regulator (if you use it).

<R72> E. Additional 0.160” inch inside diameter pneumatic tubing functionally equivalent to that provided in the KOP, with the pressure rating clearly factory-printed on the exterior of the tubing

If you are using non KOP tubing, make sure it is marked.

<R21> ... All KOP items used on the ROBOT must be included in the BOM. The source for each of the KOP items should be listed as “KOP” and the indicated cost should be listed as “$0.00.”

Please list EVERY part on the robot, and show KOP quantities separate from additional quantities. Be sure to include bumper materials.

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

Question regarding wiring:
According to <R46>,
We are running our CIMs through a 40A breaker. By (A), the circuit should be 12 AWG or larger. However, the wires coming out of the CIMs themselves are 14 AWG. Where does the "Power Distribution Board branch circuit" end? Do we need to run 12 AWG to the Jaguars? If memory serves me right, we've used 14 in the past.

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

Yes, you need to run 12 AWG or larger from the Jaguar to the leads coming out of the CIMs (if the leads do not connect directly to the Jaguar) and from the Jaguar to the Power Distribution Board. The size of the wire that is supplied with the CIM (or any motor) is irrelevant to the wiring rules.

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

OK, I'm feeling particularly generous tonight so I will let you in on the wiring we use for CIM motors in the drive system. We trim the CIM wires down to about 4-5 inches and terminate in Power Lock connectors. From the PD to the controller and from the controller to the power locks, all wiring is #10 and those lengths are as short as possible. By centrally locating the PD, all lengths can be at minimum.

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

I am going to post this in a separate thread also. (Squirrel beat me to it.) If you check the FRC competition documents, you will find in addition to Rev J of the robot rules, the Inspection Checklist. Please use the checklist before you crate the robot to see if you have done everything correctly. Checking now and planning to correct something is better than finding out at your first event and rushing to correct.

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

For the uninitiated wondering at Al's excessive 10 gauge wiring.... Assume a neat 10 ga wiring is 4ft round trip. Assume a messy 12 ga wiring is 6 ft round trip. For a CIM pulling 60 amps:
neat 10 ga: .2V drop, about 12W lost
messy 12 ga: .4V drop, about 24W lost
At 90 amps (yes they get there briefly):
.3V drop, about 18W lost
.6V drop, about 54W lost
Neat heavy wires win.

But back on topic. Your Lonestar Regional Lead Inspector (waves), would like to further emphasize the FRAME PERIMETER rule. If you've built a C-Frame chassis without the new wheel brackets, you are highly likely to be in violation of this rule. Please check your robot, because this isn't going to be any easy fix for teams pushing the 28x38x60 limits.
Other items to add to the LIST:
1. Your battery must be securely fastened (R18). This used to be a good idea, now it's the law. Don't think I won't put your robot on its side to see if the battery falls out.
2. For rookies: Battery monitoring on your driver station is mandatory. This means you need an analog bumper in Slot-1, with power from your PD, with a jumper on the two pins nearest the edge of the board.
3. Slight emphasis on a previous item. Your main power switch and pneumatic vent valve must be easily accessible. Easily means easily. If someone needs to get at one of these, it's to kill a dangerous robot. You don't want to have to reach deep inside said dangerous robot to effectively kill it. Put them near the outside of the robot. Keep access to the switch/valve clear enough for a clumsy adult to still be able to hit it.

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

Kevin,
A rule of thumb I use is the "wire foot" which is based on resistance of #10 wire, .001 ohms/ft. One foot of #10 wire at 100 amps drops 0.1 volts. So two feet of #10 wire (2' red and 2' black) totals 4 wire feet or 0.4 volts at 100 amps. The following are equivalents based on this concept.
2 ft. of #6 = 1 WF (wire foot)
1 ft of #12 = 2 WF
1 ft of #14 = 4WF
Victor = 4 WF
Old Jaguar = 3.5 WF
Battery = 11 WF

For 50 amps, divide WF by two.

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

When our electrical team asks why I want them to use 10 awg instead of 12 like the rules say I always reply with "because Big Al says so."

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

Sam,
So that's why I get funny looks when I come to your pit!

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

Obscure reference to "Big Al" -
http://ratchet.wikia.com/wiki/Big_Al

Among my many weaknesses is that I'm a HUGE Ratchet & Clank videogame nut (for the Playstation systems). One of my favorite characters from the series is Big Al from Al's Roboshack (see above link). Enjoy!

Russ

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

Russ,
That guy doesn't even look like me. Does he? No I have a beard, yeah that's it.

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

Kim, et al,

Just in case anyone is still fuzzy, here is a slide from a PowerPoint presentation I made this last Saturday...

Mike

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

Al,
Have you ever measured the resistance of the additional connector in the line? If the wire from the CIM is long enough to go straight to the Jaguar, it seems like the resistance of the additional connector (which is just a friction joint) would be higher than the benefit of replacing the #14 wire with #10 for that length.