[FTC]: Does this violate <R02>?

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by ksafin

My team was wondering if using the 3D-printer we had in our class would be considered a violation of <R02>; technically it's raw materials, not pre-fabricated.

Thoughts?

Well, my first thought is that the rules could do with some revisions for clarity. And maybe for proofreading (see 4.2.1... it is "genraly" embarassing to put your typos in large, bold, headline fonts).

In any case, while I think it would be good to encourage the use of 3D printed materials, I would argue, based on my reading of the rules, that they would not be allowed.

I base this on reading R2.d.1 which allows raw material to be used on the robot, however also clearly states that a material ceases to be a raw material once it is "processed or manufactured into a functional form". Since the ABS feedstock for a 3D printer does not fit the definition of plastic sheet or plastic spacer from R2.b.1, then I'd say that as cool as I think it would be to have 3D printed parts be legal, that they are not.

That said, there is room for some confusion, and I'm sure FIRST will be elaborating on exactly what they intended over the next couple weeks.

Jason