Quote:
|
Originally Posted by KenWittlief
I have not been involved with a Vex team. What is the difference that makes your statement true? Are Vex teams only allowed to use VEX parts? Are they allowed to fabricate or alter the parts?
If that is the limitation, then a parallel for the FRC would be a more restricted KOP class of robots, or a design that uses the KOP drivetrain... something along those lines.
Early on FIRST teams were very restricted regarding what could be used on the robot, I think at one point it was something like the KOP, one sheet of plywood, 8 feet of PVC, four square feet of sheet metal.... Would that be similar to the way the Vex competition is set up now?
|
From this year's manual:
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Hangin' Around Manual
<R5> Robot construction is constrained to the following:
a. Any Official Vex Component may be used (except as limited below).
Only one (1) Vex Microcontroller
Up to two (2) Vex Y-Cables
Up to ten (10) Motors or Servos (Any combination, up to ten)
Only one (1) Battery Pack from the Vex Power Pack (Vex P/N: 230-0036)
Up to two (2) RF receivers
(plus a few smaller items such as rubber bands and decorations that I'm omitting to keep this short...)
e. No additional components may be used.
|
So while the parts can be modified with holes and such, they already have many holes predrilled and are easy to bend by hand, so machinery would not make a huge difference. There are some individual kits for certain items such as programming and they cost anywhere from $20 to $100, but I doubt a Vex team will exceed $700 in parts (easily less if they buy wisely).
I would rather not see FIRST limit the available components on the full robot. But, yes, essentially that is what Vex is right now. Right now FIRST allows students to become involved in such a variety of areas that anyone can find something meaningful. We have one mentor who specializes in custom transmissions, and sometimes students work with him during the design process. If we were to restrict drivetrains (or any other component) then current mentors may find lose their current area of specialty, and students would not be able to learn as much in that field.
For having the divisions such as Student Built, I think that this may hurt the program a bit and the guidelines would have to be very clear. If a mentor suggests something and makes a sketch in AutoCAD, then watches the student, does that count? What if the mentor cuts the piece himself for safety reasons? And might teams decide that they have a better chance of making the championships/finals by not recruiting engineering mentors? (I would hope not, but there is a possibility)
This year I think that FIRST took a step towards fairness with their new alliance selection process (regardless of people's feelings about this, it indisputably gave weaker teams a better chance). Maybe they have something else lined up this year that would help younger teams.
-Steve