[jvriezen]

Looking at the definitions of COTS, COMPONENT, MECHANISM, an FABRICATED ITEM. Its a little confusing because the definition of MECHANISM references COTS, and vice versa.

COMPONENT – any part in its most basic configuration, which cannot be disassembled without damaging or destroying the part or altering its fundamental function.

Yes, you can disassemble without damaging the gearbox, but you can't do so without altering its fundamental function-- transmitting power from an input shaft to an output shaft and changing the RPM & torque. So an assembled gear box is a COMPONENT.

COTS: a “Commercial, Off-The-Shelf” COMPONENT or MECHANISM, in its unaltered, unmodified state. A COTS item must be a standard (i.e. not custom order) part commonly available from the VENDOR, available from a non-Team source, and available to all Teams for purchase. Items that are no longer commercially available but are functionally equivalent to the original condition as delivered from the VENDOR are considered COTS and may be used.

Note: "A COTS item must be a standard ... part ..." (Note singular PART). If the individual gear box pieces are each a COTS part, then each gear, standoff, screw, plate, grease pack, etc. must be commonly available from the vendor, individually. This argues for assembled gear box being COTS.

MECHANISM – a COTS or custom assembly of COMPONENTS that provide specific functionality on the ROBOT. A MECHANISM can be disassembled (and then reassembled) into individual COMPONENTS without damage to the parts.

I read the first clause as "A COTS assembly or custom assembly of COMPONENTS. The gear box is a COTS assembly at worst (if you don't believe its a single COMPONENT) and not custom, assuming it is assembled per vendor instructions. We said above that the gear box is a COMPONENT, so it is not a MECHANISM because it is not an assembly of components.

FABRICATED ITEMS – any COMPONENT or MECHANISM that has been altered, built, cast, constructed, concocted, created, cut, heat treated, machined, manufactured, modified, painted, produced, surface coated, or conjured partially or completely into the final form in which it will be used on the ROBOT.

There are lots of verbs here, including 'conjured' but one conspicuously missing verb is 'assembled' even though assembly and disassembly was used in defining COMPONENT and MECHANISM. When you buy a bookcase at IKEA, do you then 'build' it, or 'assemble' it? Would you say, "Hey, look at this IKEA book case I built" Or would you say "Look at this bookcase I bought (and assembled)"

Some teams build their own gear boxes, but we don't use that description for teams that use a kit gear box.

Having said all that, I've never used this argument in the past, and our team specifically disassembled a gear box and brought it to our regional as a spare due to our 30lbs exhausted. I've just now looked at these terms more closely and noticed some of these nuances.

I have no idea if I'm right, though.