Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Hill
If this is for real, it's moments like these that makes me *facepalm* at FIRST. Rules like disallowing the painting of pneumatics really detracts from the overall goal of FIRST. This isn't the way to inspire students to become engineers/scientists/etc. Way to drop the ball again, FIRST.
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While it's true that some rules (especially pneumatic rules) are what many of us would conciser overly strict and overly strictly enforced, they are there for a reason. Perhaps the inspector could have been more lenient in this instance, but the rule was almost certainly well thought out and enforced with the best intentions.
The specific rule that painting the tanks violated, I believe, was R-70, which prohibits modifying pneumatic components. While painting them
might be considered a "labeling," one could certainly read the rules such that painting the tanks would be illegal. Imagine if FIRST hadn't put in place the rule. Some team would thin the tank walls down to save weight, only to have the tanks explode when the system was pressurized. Modifications, especially to pneumatic components, have the potential to be
very unsafe.
No, this rule does not inspire future engineers. It simply was put in place and enforced to keep them safe.