[Dale]

For what it's worth, we've used the SMC manifolds for years and if you have a LOT of valves they can make sense. I doubt they are lighter, though. The 4 and 8 valve manifolds are milled out of a solid block of aluminum and are pretty hefty.

Last year we only had three valves on our robot so I got the SY3240-6LO and SY3140-6LO valves that are body ported. The kids liked them a lot better. There are fewer fiddly little parts to mess with and they mount easily. I like them because they are easier for the new members to understand and are easier to re-purpose after the competition season.

The big lesson I've learned is that these little valves are delicate, expensive little watch-like devices. Don't make the same mistake we did and store them in a box with the rest of your pneumatic junk. We've lost more valves to getting knocked around in that box than any other source.

I've never known an inspector to care about 1/8" NPT fitting rule as long as you can show that the valve meets FIRST specs and you don't have valves with giant fittings (which probably means they don't meet FIRST specs anyway.) After all some valves don't even have threads, the fitting is integral with the valve. Your mileage may vary.