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Unread 20-12-2012, 02:49
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Re: pic: 2451 PWNAGE Off-season 2012

This is a very risky investment of effort given the GDC's historic position on slip rings. They have been prohibited some years, and have been allowed other years only if they were COTS (commerical off the shelf.) Last year's [R44] stated:
Quote:
"Branch circuits may include intermediate elements such as COTS connectors, splices, COTS flexible/rolling/sliding contacts, and COTS slip rings,..."
With the power distribution rules emphasis on the safe use of COTS components, I would say it is very unlikely that a home-made slip ring would be permitted, especially for high amperage motors circuits.

Also keep in mind the fabrication schedule rules such as last year's [R18]:
Quote:
"Robot elements designed or created before the Kick-off presentation, including software, are not permitted. EXAMPLE: A team realizes that the transmission designed and built in the fall perfectly fits their need for a transmission to drive the Robot arm. They build an exact copy of the transmission from the original design plans and bolt it on the Robot. This would be prohibited, as the transmission - although fabricated during the competition season - was built from detailed designs developed prior to kickoff."
The example goes on to say that software that is developed prior to kick-off may be used if it is made generally available to other teams on a public forum. It becomes a COTS product because the software itself is the product. It does not say that the same is true for mechanical designs, although I know this has been a frequent topic. Perhaps someone knows if the Q&A Forum has made a crystal clear ruling on this.

Last edited by jspatz1 : 20-12-2012 at 03:22.
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