Not sure why you think my name is Phil (it's not).
I don't challenge that it IS a rule, nor that inspectors shouldn't enforce it. Of course you need to pass inspection (presumably by complying with the rules) in order to compete. I think you're taking the argument a bit far.
I do think that inspectors *could* have a hard time enforcing it though. For example, some of the robots that we had on that cart HAD their own on-board compressors, it was simply convenient to use the cart-mounted one.
We've been told not to use it to pressurize the robot before and complied, and the volunteers at the event(s) it was mentioned at seemed to indicate that it was somehow a safety concern because the robot wasn't controlling it, and that was the logic behind the rule.
I further believe though, that questioning the reasoning behind a rule is VALID, and IMPORTANT, because often, even though a rule may have made sense for one reason or another in the past, doesn't mean it still makes sense now. Intent is important. This is a rule that has been around for years, for what appears to be no reason at all.
To be sure, this is the specific
portion of the rule I don't understand the reasoning behind.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by FRC Game Manual
R80
<snip>... Off-board compressors must be controlled and powered by the ROBOT.
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The only reasoning I can come up with, is that they want you to be under software control so the pressure switch will shut things off appropriately. There are lots of ways to solve that without requiring the robot to be the one controlling it.
A better rule might read:
"Compressed air on the ROBOT must be provided by one and only one compressor. Compressor specifications may not exceed nominal 12VDC, 1.05 cfm flow rate. Off-board compressors must still be controlled by a pressure switch to ensure a maximum pressure of 120psi."
I apologize if my preference for a rulebook which promotes maximum freedom of configuration to the teams, while still achieving its goals doesn't sit well with you. The way the bumper and other pneumatics rules keep getting simplified and loosened, and the way HQ has expressed a desire to simplify the rulebook seems to agree with me. "That's the way we've always done it." just isn't a good reason to continue doing something a particular way.