[russell]

I personally would think it would be legal, though I wouldnt want to be the one arguing it out with the judges... More to the point I would be very hesitant to drill the housing as there are fixed magnets on the inside of it, and they are quite essential to the operation of the motor. I would want to get it x-rayed or something before trying to drill it. Again that is quite asside from the legality issues.

One thing you might want to do is talk to your programmer. Make sure he/she/it doesnt have it programmed to use some sort of sensor (potentiometer, gyro, etc) to keep the arm in position. I know I considered such an approach (If the joystick is centered then read the position of the pot and try to keep it in that position), but realised that it would have a tendency to burn out the motor and I abandoned the plot. Anyway, hope you get it worked out. I know the feeling of being crunched for time. We still dont even have a design for a tetra grabber.