Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz
How are you calculating that? The volume specs are not that different that it would allow you to drop a tank. Please remember it is easy to make decisions based on your regional expectations for availability but we do have an international competition here and all parties have to be considered. While many teams are going to the Viair compressors for weight savings, they know the downside of using this compressor is the heat generated and the lower efficiency as the system approaches 120 psi. This is likely a good place to remind teams that at one time, the robot took the field with no pressure on board and had to fill the tanks once the robot was connected to the field. Prior to that, pneumatics were not allowed on FRC robots. There is a limit on batteries if you think about it. (12 volt SLA/AGM, 18 AH to be charged at no greater than the manufacturer's recommendation, which is 6 amps or less depending on the manufacturer.)
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The Thomas fills 13.7% faster than the Viair (1 CFM vs 0.88 CFM), meaning if you would have 8 tanks with the Viair, you can get by with 7 with the Thomas (And I've definitely seen more than 8 tanks on a robot as I'm sure you have in the past couple years).
The limit on batteries you mention is analogous to the CFM and PSI restriction on compressors. We aren't restricted on how many batteries or chargers we bring, but we're allowed to charge more than 1 battery at a time.
As far as I can tell, there have always been 4 basic categories when it comes to robot rules.
Rules regarding safety and damage prevention (i.e., max PSI, wheel treads, bumpers, wire size, etc.)
Rules regarding to the game (max size, weight, motors, etc.)
Rules regarding to interoperability with the field (requiring D-Link, CRio, etc.)
Rules regarding to simplification of inspections (Requiring only certain components being used like PDB, Circuit Breakers, Motor Controllers, etc.)
Under none of these categories would the compressor rule fit.