Air Compressors

[bhsrobotics1671]

does anyone know if air compressors are allowed in the pits for pneumatic tools and such?

Thanks




-Andrew Nabors
Team 1671

[AdamHeard]

team 254 had one so I'm assuming they're all right.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by bhsrobotics1671

does anyone know if air compressors are allowed in the pits for pneumatic tools and such?

Many teams who do have small air compressors in their pits may do so because of pneumatic tires on their robots.

[David Brinza]

Team 980 brings a small compressor for riveting.

[Gabe]

Compressed air is also handy for blowing metal chips out of the robot.

[Teched3]

Originally Posted by bhsrobotics1671

does anyone know if air compressors are allowed in the pits for pneumatic tools and such?

Thanks

-Andrew Nabors
Team 1671

If you use the compressor provided in the kit, it must be set up exactly as required if it was mounted on the robot, with regulator pressure not to exceed 60 psi, and max pressure at 120 psi.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Andrew,
There is no specific rule against it. However, common sense does rule here and electrical systems being stretched along with the small pit size will cause some problems if you bring a big compressor. If you trip a breaker, other teams will not be happy.

[bhsrobotics1671]

thanks guys!!

very helpful!

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Andrew,
There is no specific rule against it. However, common sense does rule here and electrical systems being stretched along with the small pit size will cause some problems if you bring a big compressor. If you trip a breaker, other teams will not be happy.

They seem to be very easy to trip...

At LA we were running 4 battery chargers and a Vex battery charger and our braker was constantly tripping... I have a feeling it was one of the neighbor teams though.

[GBIT]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

They seem to be very easy to trip...

At LA we were running 4 battery chargers and a Vex battery charger and our braker was constantly tripping... I have a feeling it was one of the neighbor teams though.

if you dont mind me asking what do you use vex for. my team has 2 kits and i was looking for creative uses.

thanks
jared

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by GBIT

if you dont mind me asking what do you use vex for. my team has 2 kits and i was looking for creative uses.

thanks
jared

Well, last year we used them as backup batteries. But, since the rules say we have to use the new charger we no longer do that.

The other use we have now is to power our chiclet. We also run all the functions of our control board off the battery off of a vex battery (we don't use this feature at competition though) for exhibitions and such.

[karlcswanson]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Well, last year we used them as backup batteries. But, since the rules say we have to use the new charger we no longer do that.

The other use we have now is to power our chiclet. We also run all the functions of our control board off the battery off of a vex battery (we don't use this feature at competition though) for exhibitions and such.

You can use any backup battery charger as of Team Update #13

[bhsrobotics1671]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

They seem to be very easy to trip...

At LA we were running 4 battery chargers and a Vex battery charger and our braker was constantly tripping... I have a feeling it was one of the neighbor teams though.

alrighty ill keep that in mind. thanks!




note* to teams going to UC Davis competition in week 5 there is a chance that our team will be hosting Sundial at the UC Davis comp. we will let everyone know later for sure!!!

[ChuckDickerson]

Dug up this tread from last year. Same question this year. Are small air compressors allowed in the pits this year for such things as pneumatic tires, air tools, blowing out shavings in your robot and such? I searched through the manual and other than <R90>, <R93>, and <R94> concerning using the KoP air compressor to charge the robot pneumatic system I can find no reference to any rule prohibiting a small air compressor for other use in the pits. We took a small compressor to our regional last year with no problem but at the championship in Atlanta one of the green shirt safety judges told us they were not allowed in the pits and that we couldn't use it. I explained that we weren't using it to charge our robot pneumatics and that in fact we had no pneumatics on our robot but he said no matter and told us to put it away. I didn't know the green shirt safety judges had that authority but I felt it more prudent not to argue and just comply. It wasn't a big deal just that we had pneumatic tires on our cart and one of the tires had a slow leak that needed airing up every once and a while. I am wondering if anyone else has had an issue with a small air compressor in the pits?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by DeepWater

Dug up this tread from last year. Same question this year. Are small air compressors allowed in the pits this year for such things as pneumatic tires, air tools, blowing out shavings in your robot and such? I searched through the manual and other than <R90>, <R93>, and <R94> concerning using the KoP air compressor to charge the robot pneumatic system I can find no reference to any rule prohibiting a small air compressor for other use in the pits. We took a small compressor to our regional last year with no problem but at the championship in Atlanta one of the green shirt safety judges told us they were not allowed in the pits and that we couldn't use it. I explained that we weren't using it to charge our robot pneumatics and that in fact we had no pneumatics on our robot but he said no matter and told us to put it away. I didn't know the green shirt safety judges had that authority but I felt it more prudent not to argue and just comply. It wasn't a big deal just that we had pneumatic tires on our cart and one of the tires had a slow leak that needed airing up every once and a while. I am wondering if anyone else has had an issue with a small air compressor in the pits?

They don't have that authority, to my knowledge. Unless, of course, it's unsafe.

Also, you need to look in Section 3. No reference to compressors, and the only one for air is air horns as noisemakers. So it should be allowed.

If your cart tires have a slow leak, you might want to slime them.