Quote:
Originally Posted by Racer26
3) If you have the compressor off-board, for some inexplicable reason, you have to power and control it via the cRIO, rather than some other system that safely shuts off at 120psi and would otherwise meet pneumatics rules (particularly in terms of safety features).
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Yes, there are other safe ways to charge a pneumatic system (generally speaking). That said, there are reasons we don't allow some of them.
For example, most (maybe all?) pit power supplies are limited - if you bring in a shop compressor and power it on while your neighbors are charging batteries, laptops, and running their bandsaw you'll probably blow the breaker and cut power to multiple pits (individual setups vary, but probably 4+ pits). That's why most inspectors will ask teams to remove any shop compressors from the building - we want to ensure you don't ruin other team's days by cutting power to their pits.
Additionally, when it comes to something as potentially dangerous as pneumatics (an exploding tank can be
very dangerous!), FIRST has to take the safe path. We can't assume that every inspector will recognize a safe pneumatics set up, or that every team will be able to create a safe set up from scratch. Thus the strict rules - if FIRST provides explicit instructions on how EVERYONE has to set up their system, then it's much more likely that everyone will be safe, both at the events and in their shops. It's the same reason FIRST has strict rules on how to connect your battery to the robot... there are many ways you
could do that, but only 1 method that you're allowed to use.
Safety FIRST!