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Originally Posted by Conor Ryan
Ambidextrous control sticks would probably be the best possible addition to the kit.
Other than that, I like the idea of more pneumatics, maybe some more roller chain and a larger variety of sprockets, so we can see some variation in the teams that use the Kit bots. Also maybe 6 wheels instead of the standard 4 wheels?
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Okay guys, time for a quick paradigm shift.
(With or without a clutch, up to you.)
We need to remember that everything going into the KOP costs $$$. A $5 part costs FIRST $5 x 1000ish teams = $5000. This is not trivial.
If they spend money on an item for the kit, the goal is obviously to make it an item which would be as highly utilized as possible, while remaining cost effective. They want as much bang for their buck as possible.
This is why when Paul and I were brainstorming the Kit Transmission, we came up with a highly adaptable ratio, which could be used for a variety of drivetrain speeds. We came up with a housing which could be mounted in many different ways. We came up with a method by which 2 transmissions could be combined to form a high-reduction arm gearbox. We also had to build it to be robust enough to survive life in as many conceivable applications as possible. We had to make it virtuous enough that teams would use it while still keeping the costs low enough that FIRST could afford it.
Why is it 'too heavy'?
Simple -- it needed to be robust, and was designed as such. However, it costs FIRST money to drill lightening patterns in the gears. It costs teams nothing but time to do so.
Not to pick on Conor, but if FIRST put 10 sprocket sizes in the kit, and most teams pick and use 1 size, then they've essentially wasted money on 9 sprockets per team. This is not a good thing. Instead, they must strive to include a single size that a lot of teams will use. (This is just an example).
It is all about bang for your buck.
-JV