Bumper Corner Braces

[BenB]

Hey all,

Sorry for starting another discussion about bumpers, but I was wondering if there was any legal way to attach adjacent bumpers. I understand from "<R08> O." that the backing may not attach to each other, but what about mounting a brace such as the one seen in the attachment. The brace would be within the bumper perimeter, but would have to be attached to the backing (ie, not removeable) to uphold its purpose. Would this be a legal piece on the bumper assembly and count toward the bumper weight?

Essentially, we want to wrap the fabric around the corners of the bumpers so there isn't a section of soft noodle hanging off the end that another robot could unintentionally rip off. It would be best for assembly and durability (specifically when attaching and removing bumpers for inspection) to attach adjacent bumpers. This would result in two bumper pieces (one each side) to attach to our robot.

[GaryVoshol]

The brace could be part of your ROBOT, but not part of your BUMPER. When you take the BUMPERS off for size and weight, the brace stays on the ROBOT.

[MrForbes]

We considered having the "soft" parts of the bumpers wrap around the corner, but it looks to me like the hassle of making it this way, and then having to deal with those connected bumpers when removing and installing the bumpers for inspection, or for fixing the robot in a hurry, would negate any benefits.

[SuperJake]

I agree with Gary.

However, I have seen teams create a bumper assembly that consisted of two or more sides of their robot perimeter's bumpers held together at the corners by angle stock like you are talking about. If you are determined to proceed along this path for the design, I suggest that you submit a question to the FIRST Q&A forum.

[Woody1458]

One of the clauses in <R08> (I wanna say N but not sure) demands that you use a segment of verticle noodle as a corner, not connected horizontals.

[BenB]

Thanks for your responses. I have asked the Q&A. For the attachment to the robot, we were considering a simple slide and lock system, so the bolts never have to be completely removed (as a second thought, removing the bolts would increase our weight limit..).

Originally Posted by Woody1458

One of the clauses in <R08> (I wanna say N but not sure) demands that you use a segment of verticle noodle as a corner, not connected horizontals.

Although the rule only says "may" not MUST, it also gives other suggestions such as wrapping the noodles around the corner or beveling the ends.

Originally Posted by <R08> J.

Corners and joints between BUMPER segments may be filled with short pieces of vertically oriented pool noodle, by wrapping the pool noodles around the corners, or by beveling the ends between adjacent segments so they form a tight and complete protective surface (see Figure 8 – 2).

[XXShadowXX]

Hurray another bumper thread!

Originally Posted by GDC

If the vertex forms a corner of the BUMPER PERIMETER, then it must be protected by BUMPER segments (on both sides of the corner). If the bumper segment does not follow the BUMPER PERIMETER, then it is not in compliance with Rule <R08>, and would just be considered extra padding.

This seems to make the case that you don't need a vertical noodle?