[jamesmcip]

Originally Posted by EricH

I had a step by step response, but I suddenly had a "Eureka" moment. The key parts of the rule here are R21B, R21G, and R21A, as well as R26. But first... the part that triggered that "eureka" moment.

My apologies to Boltman for calling him out, and my thanks to same for helping me understand this little dilemma. He's wrong. "Hard parts" includes the plywood, angle used to clamp cloth, angle used to join plywood to plywood around a corner, AND the mounting system (what he refers to as "fasteners"). That's what R21B calls out. Don't believe me? Look at the rules it references. All that is measured off of the robot's Frame Perimeter. (The "minor protrusions" would refer to ends of fasteners embedded in the bumper to allow attachment to the robot.) You can have a gap in the support system (Frame Perimeter) of either <1/4" wide, and as long as you want (less the ends of the bumper), or <8" wide, and as deep as you want (less the other side of the robot).


I would say that under R21B, you're going to be found in violation if you use a block system attached to the bumpers (but not if the blocks are attached to the robot frame); R21A is potentially going to be hard to show legal with that big of a clearance hole (again, that'd be an inspector making the call at your event); R26 makes life interesting when it doesn't need to be.

You've got a few options here. I would start by exploring moving the motor. Not knowing how it's mounted, etc, I'd say a longer belt/chain would be in order. Or maybe rotating it 90* and using bevel gears. I might also look at moving the intake slightly backwards. Or how about moving the bumpers up or down to avoid the intake?

The really "interesting" option would be to reconfigure the entire Frame Perimeter to allow you to attach blocks to the frame, redefine the front end of the robot, and attach to the blocks with no additional problems. Of course, that might take another 4-5 weeks that you don't have, so that'd be the very last option you should take.

Thank you very much for your thorough response. We will definitely try moving the motor first, as we can CAD that and most likely accomplish it with a simple mounting plate. Well, after all this, our mechanisms will probably only work better by having a smaller bumper profile.