[quote=DeepWater;1033098]
Quote:
Originally Posted by JesseK
Eh, I'd like some sort of constraint on CIMs.../QUOTE]
How about weight? Each 2.5" CIM weighs aout 2.5 lbs IIRC. 4 = 10lbs, 8 = 20 lbs. Unless someone knows some magic I don't there really isn't any way to lighten them. At some point most teams are going to have to use lighter motors so as not to eat up so much of their 120 lb weight budget. I think allowing 6 CIMs at most would be a reasonable thing to do unless they up the 120 lb weight limit, increase the number of 40A slots on the PD board, and up the 120A main breaker - none of which I see happening anytime soon. There are plenty of contraints already limiting the "unlimited use of CIMS".
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I'm not so sure I want any team to slap 8 CIMs on their drive train and only to call it a "defensive" robot. Heh. Sorry, our robots have to survive for the post-season while also playing the game without breaking every other match.
It's like the whole debate upon regulations of car safety. More powerful engines and higher speeds equate to more structural strength necessary to prevent deaths on the highways. This means more weight added to cars as well. Rather than limiting power output, the typical regulations are on structure integrity during a crash. If the industry would tone down the power a bit, we wouldn't quite need all of that regulation.
Conversely, since FRC has a pesky weight limit, we do not necessarily have the spare weight for adding more structural integrity to EVERYTHING we design. So I'd much rather the GDC limit the power capabilities to the drive train as a slight preventative measure to prevent 'overkill' scenarios. As it stands right now, teams who want a 6-motor drive train have to do more engineering than just purchasing COTS gearboxes and slapping them on the KOP drive train. That in and of itself is limiting enough for quantity seen on the field, I think.