[EricH]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Eric,
Which note are referring to? The sentence immediately following R24 is cut and paste from the manual. The 'please note' is mine. when the manual speaks to upgrade parts I believe it is referring to your decision to beef up a part on a mechanism you designed and built prior to ship but now have second thoughts about.
This also follows R24...
The primary intent of this rule is to allow teams to withhold the ROBOT control system, the OPERATOR CONSOLE, and selected relevant subsystems and access them after the shipping deadline. This will allow teams to have the maximum time possible prior to each competition event to develop and complete the software for their ROBOT while maximizing the potential capabilities provided by the control system.

Emphasis mine.

From your post:

Please note: This is a reference to items fabricated by your team prior to ship. While you may prototype and plan items for use on your robot, fabrication may take place only at events after the ship date. If in doubt, please ask the Q&A or First for verification.

I don't see anything in the manual to support the second bolded line (<R24> specifies that a team's home facility may be used to build upgrade, spare, and replacement parts).

According to the definition of Upgrade Parts, it says COTS or Fabricated Component or Mechanism that is used to improve/add functionality, in effect. It does not say, change how part works. It does not say, you have to have had that part built/on the robot before ship. It says, add or improve functionality.

As such, anything saying "it has to have been on the robot before ship" or "the robot has to have similar functionality already" goes against the Manual's wording. I agree that the intent is to upgrade individual parts--but there is nothing to prevent an entire arm that never saw the robot before ship from coming in as part of the Withholding Allowance or as COTS parts or both and being bolted together at the event. I would, however, apply the general Manual caution against "lawyering" the rules to allow/disallow bringing in any given item.

<R25> refers to at-event work, not Withholding Allowance work.