Bumper Covers

[Macdaddy549]

Has anyone had issues with the Andy Mark bumper covers? We were told at the Chesapeake Regional that they were to baggy and the could entangle another robot. We were also told the next time we were to go on and we did not have them tight we would be disqualified for that match. So much for the $90 quick slip on covers.
I agree with the baggy look but not with entangling another robot. Needless to say for the Boston Regional we're going with the standard bumper covers.

[Jeffy]

Add velcro to the top of your bumpers and the covers.

We are not using andymark slip covers, but we made some very similar and had the same issue until we added the velcro.

[Ankit S.]

If it does look baggy, switch it out ASAP, in can get caught in your own robot. This has happened to our team before.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Mac,
AndyMark do not know what the final dimensions on your robot are when they make the skirts. They are designed to fit anything and if they are saggy, you need to make them match your robot bumper size. This is required of every bumper design and can be called if parts of the bumper system do fall outside the bumper zone during a match. We had several teams who used premade bumper kits last year without modifying them to fit their robot perimeter. You need to make bumpers fit your robot.

[Yankeefan181]

I would suggest simply making two sets of bumpers. That's what many teams have done in the past and you wind up with much better quality bumpers and without the frustrating penalties.

[Mike Betts]

We used the AndyMark covers this year and it was such a tight fit that it took three persons to install it.

One item that caused it to be tight is that we used the KOP C-Base Drive Chassis in the "Narrow Setup" as per the instructions (37.25 x 27.25). The second is that we mitered the pool noodles to give is maximum dimensions at the corners...

If you made your frame smaller or cut the pool noodles shorter, you are going to have a baggy bumper cover.

Regards,

Mike

[RoboMom]

Originally Posted by Macdaddy549

We were told at the Chesapeake Regional that they were to baggy and the could entangle another robot.

Thanks for bringing up this topic to benefit lots of teams in Weeks 4-6.

Dealing with bumper covers took a huge chunk of inspector time at Chesapeake.
Sometimes they started out ok, but got droopy once they were on the field.
Sometimes they were dysfunctional from the get-go.
Sometimes they needed just a little shoring up or a little touching up or a little TLC.

I never imagined "baggy bumper covers" would be so much a part of my vocabulary for 3 days.

[Macdaddy549]

After the eye opening time we had, we've decided to remove the bumper covers and take them home to cover them like the old days.

The reason we decided to go with the slip covers was that we finished our bot late and thought we would go the easy route. Live and learn.

[RoboMom]

Originally Posted by Macdaddy549

. Live and learn.

<veering off topic>
Isn't that one of the definitions of FRC?
Glad your team could travel to Chesapeake. It was fun having some many teams from all over there.

[Anne Shade]

Just to clarify, the issue with your bumpers at Chesapeake had nothing to do with entanglement. The issue is that all part of your bumpers must fit within the bumper zone, 1" to 7" off the floor. Those using bumper covers that are loose are easily extending beyond those limits. If you go on the field that way, you are inviting a penalty for violating the robot rules.

[GilaMonsterAlex]

We used the AndyMark bumper covers. Due to our dimensions, they were tight and fit very nice. The only modifications we made were the velcro ties. We added a bunch more to better fit our needs. They aren't easy to throw on if they are full as they should be, but three of us could do them without issue.