Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

How many pneumatic ari tanks are we allowed on the robot this yr?

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

before anybody says RTM. i just want to say how awesome the high volume tank is. The high volume tank is 7/4 as awesome as the previous tanks.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

Actually... I'm not going to say read the manual.

I'm going to say, Watch Q&A, because someone asked there already due to it not being specified in the Manual.:p

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

Actually, I think it's specified just fine in the manual. It's part of the pneumatic system, right? Thus, according to:
Additional air tanks are not listed under this rule. You received exactly 1 2"x12" accumulator in the KoP. Thus, you are allowed to use that single accumulator, no more. Compare this to the 2010 manual. The same rule exists (<R72>), with identical wording (except for the year). Under the rule, section A clearly states how many air storage tanks you can have in addition to the KoP provided 2 tanks. It seems pretty clear to me that this was specifically removed by the GDC this year in order to limit you to a single storage tank as provided in the KoP.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

IIRC, FIRST Choice had the older (smaller) tanks, and is regarded as an extension of the KOP. As such, you could use those tanks if you wanted to.

So, somebody asked Q&A for specifics. We'll see if they give any response other than "::rtm::".

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

Be very careful with that assumption...
The items on FIRST Choice are not listed in the KOP checklist. Thus, per this definition from the rulebook, they are not considered KOP items. That would apply to the air storage tanks, cost accounting for anything obtained from FIRST Choice, the legality of the "Pneumatic Muscle" from FIRST Choice, etc... I know there's been discussion on here about that definition, I hope someone has posted a question about it by this point.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

That particular definition comes from the GDC by way of Bill Miller on Bill's Blog.

It's quite confusing on a number of avenues, like you mentioned.

That's why you wait for Q&A. (I'd also be interested in: where do Bill's Blog and Q&A rate in relation to each other and the Updates?)

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

unless you have to worry about having enough air to actuate some gigantic 2x24 cylnder. take all accumulators you got 'n' strap 'em on. Worst case you have to take them off and use the one 12" accumulator.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

Hmm . . . . no specific storage tank restrictions other than 125 psi operating and 250 psi burst?



Rated at extremely high pressure . . carbon fiber . . 88 ci . . hmm

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

well then i would just strap a dive Cylinder to the bot and be done with it.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

Why not, I was just looking for a more . . light weight solution.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

See Team Update #2. It addresses some of the pneumatics rules.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

The Q&A seems to [url=http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=16123]confirm that there is no restriction on quantity or type of storage tank. Just be sure to consider the engineering tradeoffs of actually having such a high volume of stored onboard, considering that technically the volume must be filled by the 1.03 cfm compressor even in the pits.

There are tradeoffs, they're just somewhat subtle.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

I love the clippard tanks, but I also remember back in 2000 when the pneumatics first came out, and you had to run to the pit station to get a fresh tank after every match (that thing was HUGE though). There would be nothing preventing a team from constantly refilling tanks equipped with valves, and swapping them to quickly recharge the robot's pneumatics system. (Assuming everything is being done by the ONE compressor).

I've seen a few tanks out there that weigh a bit less, and take up a bit less room than the clippard tanks. That's more what I'm looking at.

I KNOW at least one team is going to have a crazy pneumatics setup this year.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

Interesting concept; I hadn't thought of that.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

That just might be us~ :cool:

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

As a reminder to everyone...
<R69> Compressed air for the pneumatic system on the ROBOT must be provided by one and only one compressor. This compressor may be either the compressor from the KOP, or an equivalent compressor that does not exceed any of the KOP compressor performance specifications (specifically: nominal 12v, 1.03 cfm flow rate, 120psi maximum working pressure). Compressed air shall not come from any other source. Off-board compressors must be controlled and powered by the ROBOT.

Emphasis mine.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

Do we have an update on this yet? Did the 2nd update specify how many tanks we can have on board now?

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

You might read the Team Updates and determine the answer yourself, rather than waiting for someone else to read them and feed the answer to you. Really, everyone should read the Manual and the rules updates. It is worth the effort.

-dave



.

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

The updates didn't say it quite clearly enough for some folks.

Q&A said, quite clearly, that there is no explicit limit. In other words, as long as all your air tanks fit in the box, meet the cost and weight constraints, and are correctly connected (the ones you aren't using as ballast), you can use as many as you want. Oh, and make sure you satisfy the pressure ratings, too.

http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=16408

Re: Pneumatic Air Tanks
 

Dave is suggesting you go to R66 par. J & K.