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Re: Preseason Design: What are the Limits?
I think it all really boils down to one derivation of fact: for any given strategy there is a best design. If you don't intend to ever change your strategy and you've already derived the best design, there is no reason to change it.
Furthermore, if you've documented the processes enough over time that it takes you 10 minutes to setup a mill and automated welding robot arm that you've taken your team and developed, it's no wonder that your team does better. It would seem logical that this is in the spirit of FIRST.
However, I think the spirit of this rule is to not only keep teams from cheating pre-season, but it is also so that a group of students that passes through a veteran program do not miss out on HOW or WHY something was designed a certain way. If you design XYZ unbeatable drive train in 2004 for a strategy, those students will have moved on by 2008. If that same team simply keeps using the same design & strategy, the new students greatly miss out on the design process, and that is NOT in the spirit of FIRST.
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Drive Coach, 1885 (2007-present)
CAD Library Updated 5/1/16 - 2016 Curie/Carver Industrial Design Winner
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