Thank you for steering me to the prior threads. Woo ... What a discussion.
I noticed that Team Overdrive's Rules Captain "Scout Master" (a student) chimed in on the thread in late January. At the time, it appeared that bolt heads could protrude beyond the vertical perimeter below the bumper zone (at least that was her conclusion). So, we proceeded with our design. By sheer luck, I stumbled onto this thread today. Team Overdrive can fix our robot to comply within the strictest compliance, but it will take about one hour of valuable time at the regional. We will grind down our welds and counter sink our shaft bolt heads.
I agree with the Mentor from Wildstang (111), clarification of this issue came way to late in the build season. Team Overdrive gives 100% of rule compliance responsibility to our students. After week four, they thought this issue was settled -- especially since common sense seemed to be obvious. Fortunately, we have a relatively quick fix. Many other teams will not. Also, depending on a team’s bumper design, "adding a shim" is not always possible.
I sure hope the local regionals give some grace on this otherwise I still see a lot of out of spec robots.
Respectfully, Coach Tom (FRC 2753)