Minibot Q&A: Welding

[EricH]

The GDC has reversed course on welding on the Minibot.

Per this post on 1/16, welding was legal: http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=16288

However, today there was a change to that: http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=16638 and http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=16652 both declare welding illegal due to the use of aluminum welding rod, which is not in <R92>.

This is a heads-up to any team planning to weld their minibots.

[Chris is me]

I sure do love when the GDC directly contradicts themselves.

Someone tell me the difference between aluminium rod and aluminium bar now?

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Someone tell me the difference between aluminium rod and aluminium bar now?

Aluminum rod is anything marketed as "aluminum rod". Aluminum bar is anything marketed as "aluminum bar".

Have I mentioned I hate the minibot rules mess lately?

[Joe Ross]

The 1/16 rule has been revised.

[Jonathan Norris]

I miss Dave and Woodie already.

[Tristan Lall]

Autogenous welding (i.e. no filler) ought to be allowed (on the theory that if the Q&A doesn't follow from the rule, it's not to be interpreted in a way that would change the meaning of the rule).

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

The 1/16 rule has been revised.

I could make the argument that welding rod is a raw form of aluminum, specifically aluminum bar (circular), that is not prepunched or preperforated, and as such should be legal.

And, I know (or know of) a way to weld aluminum without needing that filler. But by saying, "Welds are illegal", the GDC barred the use of that method (which very few teams would have the capability to use).

[AdamHeard]

What if we use the tetrix metal as filler rod?

Then we'd actually have some tetrix metal on the robot!

[sanddrag]

What about brazing?

(sorry, I couldn't resist...)

[Bochek]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

Autogenous welding (i.e. no filler) ought to be allowed (on the theory that if the Q&A doesn't follow from the rule, it's not to be interpreted in a way that would change the meaning of the rule).

I agree, the way the rule is currently, you should be allowed to weld without use of "filler rod" but using any other Legal material as filler would be permitted.

I do believe that the GDC has intended this rule to make it so that you must use fasteners to assemble your mini bots. Personally while I do enjoy the challenge of designing within the GDC's constraints, This minibot thing has gotten a little silly. A number of times in the last few years I had wished the GDC was more clear on the rules, for example, if you don't want us welding, then just say, no, you are not allowed to weld minibots together.

TL;DR: Its starting to become harder to understand the GDC's rules and design constraints, then it is to actually design and build the robots or minibots.

- Bochek

[Jim Giacchi]

I posted a question on the Q&A Forums asking for additional clarification on the material. We'll see what they say.
::Fingers crossed::

In previous posts about materials and welding of the minibot the following was given as an answer.

* No, as aluminum welding rod is not a permitted item per R92.

My question consists of the difference between aluminum welding rod and aluminum bar, the only difference is the alloy of the aluminum material and the size. What differentiates welding rod from any other type of bar. Are you limiting the aluminum that can be used on the minibot by size and alloy?

Also welding can be accomplished without the addition of any filler material at all, if this method was used would it then be legal?

Thank you very much,
Jim Giacchi
Head Coach

[Andy A.]

Originally Posted by Bochek

TL;DR: Its starting to become harder to understand the GDC's rules and design constraints, then it is to actually design and build the robots or minibots.

- Bochek

The motivations are pretty clear: FIRST wants mini bots constructed of the same materials and similar in appearance to FTC robots. It's been pretty obvious from the start that the winning minibot is one that uses the absolute minimum amount of tetrix components, and every rule change since then has had the effect of increasing that minimum and directing teams towards using tetrix components. For better or worse the mini-bot is primarily about supporting FTC and it's kit, not being a groovy design challenge for FRC teams.

I'm agnostic on the politics of this, but it is pretty disapointing. The creative payoff keeps diminishing while the competitive payoff is the same. The minibot race will likely contribute a consistent 75 points to every game. I suspect that will account for at least half of the total points scored in an average match. This is a giant game element, and the rules have been shifting around a good deal.

I guess it is what it is but I wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't such a giant game element and impossible to ignore. I can't help but feel like I started the season really excited to make a mini bot and now I'm just doing it because you really don't have a lot of choice if you want to be competitive. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.

[mott]

I agree completely! This Minibot situation has become a burden that almost none of our team members wants to embrace but our "team" knows we can't ignore.

[Tom Ore]

One thing that may help a bit is to look at it this way:

Initially the minibot rules were not well defined but we had to get started designing. Maybe the clarifications to the rules maybe didnt' help much. Then clarifications and new rules started to conflict with each other forcing teams to ask more questions to get the conflicts sorted out. All the while, the importance of the minibot and end dates didn't change.

This sounds a lot like life in the real world to me - not much fun but we've all learned how to cope when this happens. Maybe there's a lesson for the students in this...

[Numbers]

They're being unnecessarily confusing. Fine, we won't use weldingrod. We can TIG and use bar as the filler rod. Or not use filler rod at all.

They need to be CLEAR with their rules and not contradict themselves. Unless there is some internal conflict or argument about this we're unaware of, there is no point to this.