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Originally Posted by Jack Jones
Loophole?:
The sponsor could add those machined parts to their normal inventory and offer them for sale to the general public. However, IMO, that would violate not only the spirit of the rule but the letter of the rule as well, since it would not change the fact that those parts were intended for use in that team's final robot.
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I had a similar thought, but I think there is a way.
If the sponsor offered the machined parts for sale only for the purpose of meeting the FIRST requirements (but they knowingly do not expect to sell any) then I would agree, they are severely bending the rules
however, this transmission is being designed in the off season, for a robot that may not have a drivetrain like previous years. In that perspective it is a general purpose transmission. If the sponsor company was willing to manufacture the complete transmission, and offer it for sale through normal robot-hobby-educational channels (so that any team can buy the whole transmission)
then I think they are very much in compliance with the spirit of the rules, and in line with the spirit of FIRST interteam cooperation.
That would be the best of both worlds. Your team gets to design a transmission the way they want it, based on their experience over the years, and by producing many of them it will drive the cost down.
Other teams would be able to use it, but I suspect the team that designed it would have the best understanding of how to take full advantage of its characteristics and design functions.