Tips from a veteran Robot Inspector

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Now that we have had a few days of rest after stop build...
I feel refreshed.
Next installment to Al's Annual Inspection Thread, electrical. There is so many things that have changed and so many that remain the same.

1. All parts of the electrical system must be visible for inspection and on field diagnostics. Inspectors will need to see wires leaving the PD, breakers, speed controllers and motors. They will check for proper connection of the 5 volt regulator that feed the wireless access point. Power connections to the Crio, analog module, solenoid module and Digital Side Car must also be checked.
2. All indicators on the electrical system must be visible. Inspectors will check the LEDs during the 'power on' test for faults. There are three LEDs on the PD and the DSC, LEDs on the Crio and radio and the RSL if not lit must be checked on the DSC.
3. Wire size, the rules provide for the wire to be sized to the breaker. If you are using a 40 amp breaker, the wire can be a minimum of #12 or metric equiv.
4. Motors are a real challenge for us this year. More motors than ever before with certain motors from previous years and ARA available motors are all legal on the 2012 robot. Inspectors need to be able to identify these motors. If you are using motors from an ARA local outlet, you will need to show the paperwork that these were obtained through the legal source.
5. Custom circuits need to be checked for wiring, to insure they are properly supplied power, do not control loads directly or affect power pathways.
6. Insulation is required for the Crio and camera to prevent the battery from being connected to robot frame. The robot frame must be isolated from power.
7. Wiring colors will be checked. Red/white/brown/black w/stripe for +24, +12, +5 VDC supply wires and black/blue for supply return wires. Sorry, no exceptions.
8. One and only one wire per WAGO terminal. For multiple sensors that can be powered by one output, you may use a terminal strip or suitable splice/junction that is insulated.
9. All battery terminals must be insulated and any electrical connections that are not protected from other robots should also be insulated. We want you to play.
10. Battery must be securely mounted. Wire ties do not count. Secure belting, clamps, structural designs that prevent the battery from falling out are all legal and desirable. If you battery comes out, you will be disabled. Protect your battery, it is the lifeblood of your robot. There will be many robots tip overs, hard hits, falls off the bridge, etc.

[jhill0914]

A few days ago, Kris Verdeyen asked a question about an incongruity between the inspection checklist and rule R65.E - the rule says that teams may use the DB9 serial port on the cRio, but the inspection checklist says they may not. Has any progress been made on getting this rectified? We built a fairly significant subsystem on our robot to communicate with the cRio on the serial port based on rule R65. I'm assuming that the rule would take precedence over the inspection checklist, but I'd hate to get to the competition and find that we are in violation. Your thoughts?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Jeff,
we are currently working on resolving that issue on the checklist. The rule takes precedent. It is difficult to get everything on the checklist and get it under two pages long.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

7. Wiring colors will be checked. Red/white/brown/black w/stripe for +24, +12, +5 VDC supply wires and black/blue for supply return wires. Sorry, no exceptions.

I would have expected items from the Kit of Parts to be permitted, but "no exceptions" means powering sensors or servos using the supplied PWM cables is prohibited. The +5 supply wire on the female-female one is black and the return is either red or white, and the extension cables have either brown or orange as the supply return.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Alan,
R45 relates to constant voltage power supply and exempts outputs of relay modules, speed controllers, or sensor outputs. Good catch.

[cgmv123]

Wires that are part of legal devices are also exempt from the guage and color rules. Our LED ring would be illegal without that rule.

[Gary Dillard]

So in regards to this Q&A response:

Rule R13C allows exclusion from total cost of "items ever distributed to the team via FIRST Choice". May a team exclude the cost of an item listed in FIRST Choice but which was not available for distribution due to limited quantities in stock?

No.

Do we need to provide evidence of what we received from FIRST Choice? Or is that just going to be convered under the signature that everything on our robot is per the rules?

[Wayne Doenges]

I was going through the robot checklist and I found another item that is sometimes forgotten.
Team Name - Prominently and proudly display the team’s school name and primary sponsor(s) name/logo <R04>
Your sponsors have donated money so you can build a robot. Shouldn't you show your appreciation and place their name on your bot?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Gary,
I am going to hazard a guess that the GDC responded to this question with the assumption that the team was asking could they get the exclusion if they obtained the part from somewhere other than First Choice. That is what jumped to mind when I read the response a second time. The team could not obtain the part through First Choice as it was a limited quantity item so they found it somewhere else and paid for it from that source. Under those circumstances I would agree that the part needs to be costed out on the BOM.

[Gary Dillard]

I guess since I'm the one who posted the question here's where I'm coming from. When earlier in the season I asked the question about the Van Door motor not being allowable since it is from FIRST Choice and not listed as a legal source, the answer I got was that it was in a prior year's KOP so it was legal. So if I put the one I got from FIRST Choice on the robot it's free, but if I put the one on from a prior year's KOP I have to account for the cost? How exactly would you like me to track which one I'm using - we have never made a distinction between original parts and spares, but this sounds like it makes a difference where you got at least your first one.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by Gary Dillard

I guess since I'm the one who posted the question here's where I'm coming from. When earlier in the season I asked the question about the Van Door motor not being allowable since it is from FIRST Choice and not listed as a legal source, the answer I got was that it was in a prior year's KOP so it was legal. So if I put the one I got from FIRST Choice on the robot it's free, but if I put the one on from a prior year's KOP I have to account for the cost? How exactly would you like me to track which one I'm using - we have never made a distinction between original parts and spares, but this sounds like it makes a difference where you got at least your first one.

as long as you are only using the quantity which you obtained from First Choice, then I would imagine you can account for the cost assuming they are from FIRST choice. If I had an AM 9015 burn out and bought an exact replacement from AM but still only used the quantity that came in the kit (one), would I really have to account for the cost of that motor? What if this happened in the middle of a competition? Would you have to re-submit your BOM even though the parts on your robot haven't changed? What if you went to another competition after that? Right?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Gary,
We don't track spares on the BOM. With this rule...

The following items are excluded from the total cost calculation:
A. items listed on any KOP Checklist (qty is limited to the total listed in the most recent checklist),

I would say if it was listed on a previous year's KOP checklist then it is excluded.

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

I would say if it was listed on a previous year's KOP checklist then it is excluded.

That's what I was thinking too... that's how it has worked for other things in the past.

[Gary Dillard]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Gary,
We don't track spares on the BOM. With this rule...

The following items are excluded from the total cost calculation:
A. items listed on any KOP Checklist (qty is limited to the total listed in the most recent checklist),

I would say if it was listed on a previous year's KOP checklist then it is excluded.

I missed that change in the rule, that is a huge difference from past years.

Thanks Al.

[PayneTrain]

If that's the case, would we not have to count any of our CIM motors because we are using the motors from last year's KOP?