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Unread 15-02-2010, 10:53
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Jon Stratis Jon Stratis is offline
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FRC #2177 (The Robettes)
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Re: clarification of rule <R44> on the "The Robot" section

Surprisingly, part of our robot is going to look very similar - we're stacking the cRio and the PDB as well. However, we're flipping ours around - the cRio is mounted horizontally below the PDB, making the PDB easily seen at all times. For easy access, we've routed all the wires from the PDB to one side - this allows us to run them over a hinge, so the PDB can quickly and easily be raised out of the way for access to the cRio if needed during competition.

If you have the capability to create a sturdy bracket for the top board, a hinge (specifically a piano hinge) might be a great way to go. This will be the third year in a row we've used one. The first year was for a piece of plexiglass covering our electronics and the second year on a sheet aluminum "door" that allowed access to the orbit balls when the robot was turned off so they could be inserted to or removed from our mechanism quickly and easily.