We had the same idea actually. Although, we had the idea of using something like a trigger mechanism off of a control group on a firearm.
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Originally Posted by ChrisH
It depends on how it is used. You could apply force to the rod of a pneumatic cylinder that had air trapped behind the piston by a closed valve. This could cause the air in the cylinder to exceed 60psi, which would be a rule violation. There are various ways to both do this sort of thing and prevent it, depending on what you are trying to accomplish
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In our implementation, the air wouldn't be trapped, only the piston would be trapped (somewhere) midway along it's stroke. If there were a force applied to the pneumatic cylinder, it would back-pressure into the system and still be regulated to 60 psi. If I remember correctly from accidently putting the regulator backwards on the 'high pressure side', the pressure releases if it's above 60. One of the first things we do every year is hook the regulator backwards and have our entire system never go past 60 psi, then someone remembers what happened the year before.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebarker
I'm kinda wondering - maybe this should be put on the FIRST Q&A. If we were to use a system that had the ability to use a pre-charged kicker cylinder it seems we would have to demonstrate to inspection that there is NO pre-charge condition prior to match start. I suppose putting a gauge on the cylinder circuit downstream of the valve could demonstrate there is NO pre-charge while the robot is in the fielded 'disable' mode.
What say you Al ? Should I put it to the Q&A ? We want to use something like this.
Ed
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You could also prove that it is not pre-charged before a match by unlocking the triggering system, and the cylinder at this point wouldn't fire.
Edit: Don's question should cover the Q&A question that I'd even like to ask. Could someone submit that?