unlimited storage tanks and cylinders??

[JesseK]

Consider that the tanks were supposed to be filled by the competition battery each match, and that tanks do not fill instantaneously (some teams took 7+ minutes to fill). This may not seem like a big deal, but it's definitely something to panic about when you've just let the air out and you have 5 minutes to be on the field.

[Slartibartfest]

How many uses can you get out of a piston? Is there a calculation one can use to figure out how much air pressure/ volume the robot would need to actuate the piston X number of times?

[clandry94]

Originally Posted by JesseK

Consider that the tanks were supposed to be filled by the competition battery each match, and that tanks do not fill instantaneously (some teams took 7+ minutes to fill). This may not seem like a big deal, but it's definitely something to panic about when you've just let the air out and you have 5 minutes to be on the field.

Can you cite this rule about using the competition battery to fill tanks? Interesting.

[theawesome1730]

Originally Posted by clandry94

Can you cite this rule about using the competition battery to fill tanks? Interesting.

I'm not sure that there is a rule about this. Last year we would fill ours in the the pit pre-match to ensure we had enough to deploy our appendage (see http://youtu.be/g_7ljqbIdi8 if you don't know what I'm talking about) at the beginning of the match

[Botwoon]

Originally Posted by clandry94

Can you cite this rule about using the competition battery to fill tanks? Interesting.

R80

Compressed air on the ROBOT must be provided by one and only one compressor. Compressor specifications may not exceed nominal 12VDC, 1.05 cfm flow rate. Off-board compressors must be controlled and powered by the ROBOT.


The intent of this rule is to permit teams to take advantage of the weight savings associated with keeping the compressor off-board. However, using the compressor off-board of the ROBOT does NOT permit non-compliance with any other applicable rules.

The compressor may be mounted on the ROBOT, or it may be left off the ROBOT and used to pre-charge compressed air in storage tanks on the ROBOT prior to bringing the ROBOT onto the FIELD.

They obviously wouldn't notice if you charged your tanks with a big compressor in your pit prior to leaving to the field, and I'm sure some teams probably do it that way anyway, but there's the rule regardless. I'm actually glad this was brought up, I wasn't aware of this rule either.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by Botwoon

They obviously wouldn't notice if you charged your tanks with a big compressor in your pit prior to leaving to the field, and I'm sure some teams probably do it that way anyway, but there's the rule regardless. I'm actually glad this was brought up, I wasn't aware of this rule either.

There was a big issue last year at one of the regionals where a team was using a shop compressor in the pits to recharge their tanks in between elimination rounds. This potentially allowed them to recharge their tanks faster than otherwise would have been possible for teams following rule R80.

This caused a bit of an uproar here on CD, which makes me believe regionals will be looking more closely at teams with such compressors in their pits this year to make sure they are following the rules.