Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz
To jump way back in the thread Joe and Wetz,
The answer still is confusing. Why answer the question with a reference to fabricated items when the question is about upgrades?
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FIRST seems to have omitted the term glossary it usually includes in the Introduction section of the Game Manual that clearly defines capitalized terms such as "Fabricated Items" and "Mechanism". If they stuck it somewhere else, please point it out - I sure as heck couldn't locate it.
So all teams have to go by is the 2011 definitions. If FIRST didn't take it upon themselves to provide definitions for 2012, teams must presume that the definitions didn't change. At this point, if FIRST released the definitions and any were significantly different from the 2011 defines, I think you'd have pitchforks and torches lining up in Manchester.
Anyway:
MECHANISM, 2011 – a COTS or custom assembly of COMPONENTS that provide specific functionality on
the ROBOT. A MECHANISM can be disassembled (and then reassembled) into individual
COMPONENTS without damage to the parts
FABRICATED ITEM, 2011 – any COMPONENT or MECHANISM that has been altered, built, cast,
constructed, concocted, created, cut, heat treated, machined, manufactured, modified, painted,
produced, surface coated, or conjured partially or completely into the final form in which it will be
used on the ROBOT.
[R26, 2012 Manual] - Teams may bring a maximum of 30 lbs of Fabricated Items to each competition event to be used to repair and/or upgrade their Robot at the competition site. The Operator Console and any battery assemblies (see [R03]-A) are not applicable.
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Shooters, bridge tenders, etc. are "custom assemblies of components that provide specific functionality on the robot". They are therefore MECHANISMS.
A MECHANISM, by definition, is a FABRICATED ITEM.
Conclusion: teams may bring a maximum of 30 lbs of FABRICATED ITEMS - including MECHANISMS - to each competition.
Also, just because a team may have had a shooter on their bot at some point in the build, they do not HAVE to put that shooter in the bag. The team has full control over the functionality they choose to put in the bag. They have a right to withhold a portion of that functionality, putting the balance in the bag. They work to improve the shooter mechanism after stop build, they bring it to the venue legally as part of the allowable 30 lbs., and they then UPGRADE their robot's functionality with the shooter once they remove the bot from the bag.