Al's Annual Inspection Thread

[Mike Betts]

Unless you are informed differently by your event organizers, remove your bumpers, minibot and battery before coming up for your initial inspection. Bring these items with you as the minibot and bumpers will be weighed separately.

Also, bring your BOM with you to the initial inspection and offer it up front to your inspectors. They will appreciate it.

Do the WPA configuration kiosk before your first practice match.

Lastly, do your inspection as early as possible. You will find the inspection crew ready and waiting early in the day rather than backed up at the end of the day.

As an example: If your arm is in need of the tender mercies of your pit crew, call it a non-functional decoration and have the rest of the robot inspected. You can get your inspection sticker and be assured that you are legal for Friday and have no other inspection issues to attend to. Now you can work on your arm for the rest of Thursday and ask for a re-inspection when ready. Usually, only the parts which were changed will be inspected.

Above all, have fun and, if you need help, ask for it... Your inspectors will be glad to help or try to arrange for another team to help you.

This should not be a traumatic experience!

Regards,

Mike

[Al Skierkiewicz]

OK,
Time for round two....

1. As Mike said, inspect early. There is a penalty for not being inspected...
<T03> A TEAM will only be allowed to participate in a MATCH and receive qualification, ranking, and Coopertition points only if it has passed inspection. If it is learned after the start of the MATCH that a TEAM did not pass inspection, the TEAM’s entire ALLIANCE will receive a RED CARD for that MATCH.

2. Inspect early and practice more. From At The Events...
4.6.1.2 The Filler Line
 Robots in the Filler Line must have passed full inspection;

3. Pneumatics rules (and as answered in the Q&A) allow one solenoid valve per actuator and all air must be vented when the vent valve is opened. <R73> & <R74>

4. Minibots will be inspected separately and will require an inspection for each one used at each event.

5. BOM needs to be complete and accurate and in an electronic form using the FIRST BOM Template, (thumb drive or other portable, USB storage device). It must be viewable in the pit during inspection. Printed copy is preferred, but a laptop is acceptable. Section 4.3.4 is very clear what needs to be included and how to list costs. No BOM=no sticker.

6. Teams may not contaminate the field with lubricants or other substances. If you have chains hanging down from your robot, you will need to find some method of keeping them from rubbing against the carpet during match play.

7. Safety is our first concern. Sharp edges, pointed mechanisms less than 1 square inch in cross section, entanglement hazards all must be eliminated. Participants are in close contact with robots in the pits and in the queue. My pet peeve is tywraps that are improperly trimmed leaving little sharp edges of plastic. I have lost enough blood already.

8. No exposed lasers. I know many of you want to use them for range finders, and aiming devices but they are not allowed.

9. Insulated battery terminals and PD terminals. The battery is capable of supplying welding currents. Yes that equates to metal coming in contact with terminals can weld itself in place and produce high temperatures, with possible battery case failure and fire. If I am inspecting, you will be insulating terminals while I work and will not pass inspection until all batteries are insulated. There is a reason there is a big bump molded into the case of the PD so that dropped tools will not contact both terminals. If the PD is exposed, we will ask you to insulate the terminals.

10. I hope all week two events go smoothly and everyone has a great weekend.

[Wayne Doenges]

Here's one that has been missed.
Have your Main Breaker visible AND easily accessible. If your robot starts to smoke, wouldn't it be nice if a ref could cut the power quickly?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Sorry to add this out of sequence but...
I highly recommend that you check the First website well in advance of your next event for software and firmware updates. They may not be needed at your next event, but it would be better to have them if/when you might need them. This list might include cRIO firmware, Labview, DS, C++, and Java depending on your implementations. Be prepared for any old thing!

I am surprised more people haven't come on and stressed this so here goes...

Read the Manual!
Don't look out the window of the bus until you have read the latest version of all sections. The Arena is at Rev D, The Game is at Rev M, and The Robot at Rev K. Read the Robot twice.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

OK,
From experience in week 2 events. You were only shipped one pressure gauge in the KOP this year. That does not mean you only need one gauge. Two are required, one to display high pressure and one to display low pressure.

There are rules that apply for off-board compressors so if you choose, those rules also apply. If you don't quite understand the off-board rules, think that the system design must be the same as if everything was on the robot. All of the same parts are required and the same power on test as well. You can have certain parts off board but the compressor must still be controlled by the Crio, pressure switch and Spike and the power must come from the robot battery not a second battery.

[wilsonmw04]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

OK,
From experience in week 2 events. You were only shipped one pressure gauge in the KOP this year. That does not mean you only need one gauge. Two are required, one to display high pressure and one to display low pressure.

There are rules that apply for off-board compressors so if you choose, those rules also apply. If you don't quite understand the off-board rules, think that the system design must be the same as if everything was on the robot. All of the same parts are required and the same power on test as well. You can have certain parts off board but the compressor must still be controlled by the Crio, pressure switch and Spike and the power must come from the robot battery not a second battery.

Question regarding use of off robot compressors. do we follow the same rules to pre charge the system while you are waiting in queue? We have a rather large reservoir this year and it can take up to 1:30 minutes to charge completely. Can we use an off board system to charge the system and then use the on board system during the match?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

Question regarding use of off robot compressors. do we follow the same rules to pre charge the system while you are waiting in queue? We have a rather large reservoir this year and it can take up to 1:30 minutes to charge completely. Can we use an off board system to charge the system and then use the on board system during the match?

No. All pressure for use on the robot must come from the KOP or equiv compressor running under Crio control using the robot battery.

<R69> Compressed air for the pneumatic system on the ROBOT must be provided by one and only one compressor. This compressor may be either the compressor from the KOP, or an equivalent compressor that does not exceed any of the KOP compressor performance specifications (specifically: nominal 12v, 1.03 cfm flow rate, 120psi maximum working pressure). Compressed air shall not come from any other source. Off-board compressors must be controlled and powered by the ROBOT.

[Ether]

No. All pressure for use on the robot must come from the KOP or equiv compressor running under Crio control using the robot battery.

What if their off-board system IS a KOP or equiv compressor running under Crio control using a robot battery?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

It must be as you describe if off-board.

[wilsonmw04]

Originally Posted by Ether

What if their off-board system IS a KOP or equiv compressor running under Crio control using a robot battery?

That's what we are considering: two batteries, two cRIO's, and two complete pneumatic systems.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

That's what we are considering: two batteries, two cRIO's, and two complete pneumatic systems.

Sorry,
But all robot rules apply here. One and only one battery and one and only one Crio.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

OK,
Time to talk about bumpers. It seems most teams are getting bumpers right this year. That's good! However, with the bumper zone low to the floor already, some teams have saggy bumper fabric and bumper covers. Teams can be called on bumpers and bumper parts outside the zone during competition. Please keep checking when you take the field to be sure that the fabric is not hanging down to the floor. This occurs mostly at the corners where the fabric is folded. Also bumper skirts tend to get saggy, you should have some method to tighten up the fabric, i.e. velcro, string, or extra staples as needed. No point in getting to a finals match to find that you are being cited for a bumper zone violation.

It has been reported that some teams that are using the terminal blocks from the KOP are having an issue with reliability. If you are using these blocks, remember that they are meant for a certain size wire. The small gauge wire used in the sensors is likely to pullout of the block. Try stripping an inch of insulation and folding the wire back on itself twice before insertion.

Note to all teams in the coming weeks...
There is no honor in being the last robot to inspect or to miss a match because you waited too long. When you inspect early, you get to practice more by being able to enter the "filler line". Teams that have more practice do better in competition, that is a fact. You also get to try out your minibot. Inspect early!

To rookies and veterans with new mentors...
Please ask the LRI or other experienced mentors before you tear your robot apart. If you take the field with a partially working but driving robot, your alliance partners will thank you. A three on two or a three on one game is no fun to watch or to play. There are lots of experienced people who can help you make changes and not miss matches.

Signage...
Many teams are short changing themselves on signage this year. It is hard to tell what sponsor, school or team name is playing. Be proud of your team and display your colors. The announcers will be able to call out your robot name or school while you play and you will get noticed.

BOM...
Needed in electronic form and be visible in the pit during inspections. Most teams are getting this right as well. Be sure to be accurate in your use of the KOP list as well. First can do electronic searches on the BOM to look for interesting parts and those not used.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

OK,
Time for the next installment with more data from the past week...

Motors: Teams continue to show up with Globe motors, old Fisher Price motors and van door motors. All of these are illegal motors this year. Please check your designs and make sure you are using only one of the 2011 FP motors and neither Globe or van door motors on your 2011 robot.

Crio: Although we cannot check for everything, you must keep conductive material out of your Crio. More teams are reporting issues with Crio reboots and many if not all are due to metallic dust and shavings getting into electronics. Use the gasket intended for your Crio to help keep dust and particles from accumulating inside.

Bumper skirts: While many teams use these, very few are keeping an eye on correct attachment. Covers, bumper material and bumpers in their entirety must remain inside the bumper zone, 1" to 7" above the floor. If your material or skirt drags on the floor or falls below the 1" above the floor, expect the refs to see it and penalize you.
R07
B. The BUMPERS must be located entirely within the BUMPER ZONE when the ROBOT is standing normally on a flat floor, and must remain there (i.e. the BUMPERS must not be articulated or designed to move outside of the BUMPER ZONE).

Minibots: Only Tetrix switches, limit switches and a maximum of two switches sold as "lighting" switches may be used on the minibot. Toggle switches, push button switches, rockers and other switches sold by outlets like Radio Shack are not permitted. If the switch is not normally thought of as one of these, be prepared to show documentation as to it's marketed use as a lighting or limit switch.

Radio power: Must use the five volt regulator supplied in the KOP. If you have connected your radio without using the regulator (i.e.12 volts), expect it to fail in the future. Be sure you have another on hand for replacement at your next event.

Finally, there is some items that are still not legal on FRC robots. Electrical solenoids, other wireless devices including Bluetooth and WiFi, home built pneumatic components, modified pneumatic, electrical or control system components are all illegal.

[scottydoh]

The motor situation seems to be a big problem. I had to give at least 3 teams the bad news that their motors were illegal. All of which were completely shocked when I informed them.

[Alan Anderson]

If you have a legal on-board system, there's no room in the rules for having an off-board system too.