Team Update #5

[Alex Cormier]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Wow, I missed the minibot part completely - that's quite nice.

Anyone got a recommendation for a 2 amp fuse?

Let's see if I am thinking what you are thinking.

You use all the power the motors give you, climp up the pole, hit the top burn out the fuse and replace after match and redo next match and so forth?

Cheaper and easier to replace a blown fuse then to have another switch on the bot to bring it back down. The issue I have of placing a switch on the bot to bring it back down the pole is, what if that switch trips or something, then you will not reach the top that match.

[Tetraman]

The BEST part of this entire update for everyone is

DD. Non-functional decorations.

174 1/2 can finally get pimped out now.

[rocketeer1]

Originally Posted by Alex Cormier

Let's see if I am thinking what you are thinking.

You use all the power the motors give you, climp up the pole, hit the top burn out the fuse and replace after match and redo next match and so forth?

Cheaper and easier to replace a blown fuse then to have another switch on the bot to bring it back down. The issue I have of placing a switch on the bot to bring it back down the pole is, what if that switch trips or something, then you will not reach the top that match.

Hey, thats a good idea. Thanks.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by rocketeer1

Hey, thats a good idea. Thanks.

I was thinking the same thing...

...but we have to be careful that the fuse fries before the motors do, don't we?

That said, playing around with the MINIBOT (and not having yet found that super-optimal gearing), we have found that even somewhat significant weight changes (.5 lbs or so) seem to have almost no effect on the climb rate...

This might well change when we find that 'optimal gearing', of course.

[Molten]

Originally Posted by EricH

You have an upper frame. It is the same size as the frame in the area of the Frame Perimeter. You have one bolt that sticks out over the frame perimeter.

Previously, you would not have been allowed to compete. Now, you are. It's the same change they made last year in like Week 4 or 5 of build, IIRC.

Wouldn't it still not pass initial inspection during the box test? Or is that what they are altering?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Molten

Wouldn't it still not pass initial inspection during the box test? Or is that what they are altering?

Nope, because the smart teams always build smaller than the box to allow for bolt heads. Bolt heads are exempted from the frame perimeter. So it's quite possible to have a bolt head sticking out from the volume defined by the frame perimeter (vertical dimension infinite). Before this ruling, that would have been an issue--it was last year. Now that this update has come out, there is much rejoicing that this doesn't have to happen again.

The box is still the box; no leniency on that for being oversize.

[Molten]

Originally Posted by EricH

Nope, because the smart teams always build smaller than the box to allow for bolt heads. Bolt heads are exempted from the frame perimeter. So it's quite possible to have a bolt head sticking out from the volume defined by the frame perimeter (vertical dimension infinite). Before this ruling, that would have been an issue--it was last year. Now that this update has come out, there is much rejoicing that this doesn't have to happen again.

The box is still the box; no leniency on that for being oversize.

That's good. I thought FIRST was starting to go easy. Who knows maybe the next update would have been "its ok if your .5 lbs overweight?". Now that I understand the difference, an overall good ruling.

[team222badbrad]

Team222badbrad remembers when nobody knew what bumpers where...

"<R14> When a ROBOT is in its STARTING CONFIGURATION, no part of the ROBOT shall extend outside the vertical projection of the FRAME PERIMETER"

Now we don't have to worry about adding lexan and such to our frame to make the bolts flush...

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Please also note that the update is allowing the thermal protection wires for the Tetrix motors as listed on the linked Approved Tetrix Parts list.
R92..
A. TETRIX components that are not in violation of any other rules (Tetrix components are listed in Approved Tetrix Parts at www.usfirst.org/frc/competitionmanual),

[JesseK]

Woohoo, we can solder the motor leads so they don't come unplugged! There would be many disappointed MINIBOT deployers if they didn't allow this. It was fairly painful in 2009-2010's FTC game.

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by EricH

Nope, because the smart teams always build smaller than the box to allow for bolt heads. Bolt heads are exempted from the frame perimeter. So it's quite possible to have a bolt head sticking out from the volume defined by the frame perimeter (vertical dimension infinite). Before this ruling, that would have been an issue--it was last year. Now that this update has come out, there is much rejoicing that this doesn't have to happen again.

The box is still the box; no leniency on that for being oversize.

I'm excited because our base is 1" undersized in any direction, but we have some minor protrusions in the bumper zone, and possibly one or two above, and they weren't specifically addressed prior to this update. I can sleep again.

Oh, and I can get rid of the wooden shims.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Tetraman

The BEST part of this entire update for everyone is

Why would you ever want to add useless mass to the minibot?

EDIT: I guess some identifying markings wouldn't weigh much.

[Tetraman]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Why would you ever want to add useless mass to the minibot?

EDIT: I guess some identifying markings wouldn't weigh much.

Yea. A splash of color and team number would be all that is necessary. Having a black box felt so boring.

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Why would you ever want to add useless mass to the minibot?

EDIT: I guess some identifying markings wouldn't weigh much.

Additionally, it allows us to powder coat the MINIBOT parts that do not contribute to motion or friction (i.e. anything that doesn't directly make contact with the pole).

[PaW]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Why would you ever want to add useless mass to the minibot?

EDIT: I guess some identifying markings wouldn't weigh much.

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