[JesseK]

In FTC, if you can fabricate a "spring" from allowed parts, then the "spring" you fabricated is allowed so long as it's obvious that the allowed parts exist. This circumvents efforts by teams to make a spring by (for example) "stretching the 1/8" thick wall of an allowed metal tube such that it becomes wire thin, then bending the resulting metal wire into a spring-like shape".

Now, that doesn't mean the "spring" one fabricates from allowed parts in this scenario would put out enough energy. So perhaps one should try to do some spring calculations first. Or just prototype with real springs and try to figure out how to fabriate them later.

Really, prototype the stuff first guys. This conjecture is just ... noisy crap I have to filter out on my CD RSS feed...