Quote:
Originally Posted by BurtGummer
Second.....rules. First off, regionals need more control. We fit easily into the measuring box at the LA Regional, but somehow our robot grew 3/8 of an inch between then and Atlanta, and the frame was not bent. In fact, I cut off a piece that was a little too high on Thursday morning just because I didn't like it sticking up. It fit that way into the measuring box at the LA Regional, but after cutting it off, it didn't fit in the boxes at Atlanta. If you are going to be so specific about something, the equipment measuring it needs to be precise as well.
Wiring colors? I'll be honest, I had no idea because I didn't have the time to sit down and read a rule book, and other students assigned the task did not complete it. But with that aside, why does it matter what color a wire is? Gauge is of course understandable, but the color? I've been working with electrical 'stuff's for years. IMO, it's a rule that is not necessary. Rules are normally for controlling the robot entries from having extra advantages (Size, Weight). But wire color? Come on. Don't pull the safety card on this either. Knowing a wire is ground or hot shouldn't decide how you work with it. You treat every wire like it's hot, just like you always treat a gun like it's loaded. On top of that, our wire coding was not correct at the LA Regional either, but none of the inspectors noticed. It would definitely help if we knew about it then, rather than at the Championships.
I will say that I am glad I went to Atlanta and had the opportunity to experience it, because it will be much harder to get there after our rookie year. It had the fun parts.....and it had the parts that made me steaming mad. Some improvements can definitely be made though.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BurtGummer
I'm not blaming the volunteers, I'm just saying that some of the ruling is unnecessary. I am an individual who uses whats available. If I had the option of buying red and black wire at home depot in the correct gauge sizes, then I would have, because I do understand wiring codes. I used blue for black (not an uncommon practice for common/ground). They didn't have the red or even black wire (both surprising and not surprising in a way for Home Depot), so I used what I could buy. Having wire is better than none at all. Home Depot was not our only stop either.....electrical specialty shops no longer exist in our area.
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First of all, the opinions that I am about to express are mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect that of any other inspector, or of FIRST...
Let me start by saying that I'm glad you enjoyed the fun parts in Atlanta. It's a fantastic experience and I wish everyone could go. It's almost impossible to go there, especially with a rookie team, and not have your team improve next year just from the exposure to other teams, robots, and ideas that they receive there.
I'm very sorry that you made it all the way to the Championship with a problem that should have not passed inspection at the regional. Having to tell teams at Atlanta that their robot is not legal, after they have passed at a (or multiple) regionals is certainly not the enjoyable part of the job.
We try very hard to make the inspection experience uniform between the 43 regionals, and the Championship. However, as it involves 300+ volunteer inspectors and at least 10 different sets of inspection equipment, sometimes there are variations and things slip by. In addition to the manufacturing variation in the boxes, they take a lot of abuse. We try to make sure at setup that the boxes are square, and the dimensions are correct. Teams are constantly bumping (or worse) them with the robots, and they may get knocked out of proper size. If you think there is something wrong with a box, please ask to have the box checked!
Others have done a good job of providing reasons why imposing some sort of color code requirement makes sense. All I will add is that I am often asked to help try to assist teams with problems. It's hard enough to figure out the wiring in many robots as it is, without adding in having to deal with some random color code. (Or even worse, having it all be Pink or Moe green
)I'm sure Al can provide many more reasons, and horror stories.
From the rules document that you did not have time to read:
Quote:
<R47> All active Power Distribution Board branch circuit wiring with a constant polarity (i.e., except
for relay module, speed controller, or sensor outputs) shall be color-coded as follows:
A. Use red, white, brown, or black with stripe wire for +24 Vdc, +12 Vdc and +5 Vdc
connections.
B. Use black or blue wire for common (-) connections.
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I did not personally inspect your robot, but my understanding is that the problem was not with the use of blue wire, which is acceptable for use as the negative connection (in agreement with the practice you refer to above), but with the use of a color for positive that was not on the above list in item (A). Please correct me if I am wrong about this.
As far as not having time to read the rules: If we are trying to expose students to engineering, then they might as well learn now that reading the requirements is not an optional activity. The requirements documents at my job run to several hundreds of pages for any given product. Not being aware of what the requirements are can lead to many unpleasant consequences, ranging from additional costs to my employer, to the loss of my job, all the way up to the loss of life on the part of my end user. It only takes a few minutes to skim thru the rules so that you are at least aware that there is a requirement for wire color, or bumpers, or the size of the robot, or size and placement of team numbers, or a bill of material, or ....... Then at least you can go back and find it later when you need to.
Please do not take the above personally. One of my biggest frustrations during build seasons is trying to get the team members on my own teams to read the rules. They seem to think it is easier to keep coming up with stuff and asking me if it's legal than to read the 32 page manual section containing the robot rules
And sometimes I just let them show up for inspection with stuff that I know will not pass. And I make sure that whoever is going to do their inspection knows exactly what to look for
I hope you had an overall positive experience, and I hope to see you and your team back in Atlanta soon!