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Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
Not being very well versed in pneumatics, this thread has certainly taken an educational turn!
Personally, I don't have a problem with teams using a battery to charge pneumatics, and then a different battery to run the match - I think that is clearly within the rules.
However, I do have to acknowledge the potential safety aspect involved here... Turning on a robot while in line to charge pneumatics only provides a chance for mechanisms to act unexpectedly (as someone accidentally leans on controls, for example). Thus far, all of the systems I've seen have a single storage portion, that vents to the pneumatic solenoids to be controlled - it would seem simple to put a manual valve in place there to manually turn off the working portion of the pneumatic system, and allow safe storage. Then once on the field and in position, that manual valve could be turned, allowing the system to "go live" in a safe way - much the same as safety pins and lockouts that teams put in place during transport and pull once they are on the field.
Thoughts? This could be a nice safety feature...
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