Al's Annual Inspection Thread 2013

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Well,
Now that everyone has bagged their robot using the official FRC bag and secure seal tag, you are good to go right? Not quite yet.
One of the biggest issues for inspectors every year with B&T is having teams produce the B&T forms. You should have filled this item out when you bagged the robot on Tuesday. Now is the time to make copies and insure that the original goes to someone who will be moving with the robot to competition. On a number of occasions, we have had teams with the form in the hands of a teacher who didn't travel with the team or the team captain who got the flu just before the competition. If you want to maximize your time on practice day, be sure to have the form handy when you arrive.

The best way I've seen to avoid forgetting your form is to securely attach it to your bag! Get some duct tape and tape a sheet protector to the bag. Slide the form into the sheet protector and you'll never forget it.

Please note, that if you're transporting your robot to competition in the back of a truck or on an uncovered trailer, you'll want to keep wind in mind... You don't want the form blowing away while cruising down the highway 100 miles from competition!

[lcoreyl]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

Wow! Absolutely nothing in there about safety shields for high speed rotating equipment.

Given the number of shooters that will be running wheels at several times their design speed, I really expected something about "high speed rotating mechanisms are shielded to reduce the likelihood of injury during testing or in the case of failure of a rotating component".

ditto to that! I'm also noticing a lot of this in videos (some labeled as reveal) with no wheel covers.

I'm having flashbacks to breakaway when we spent precious manhours making sure we didn't allow balls under our bot only to have FIRST decide that as long as a whole lot of people are doing it, then lets not follow the rules...

[Wayne Doenges]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

Please note, that if you're transporting your robot to competition in the back of a truck or on an uncovered trailer, you'll want to keep wind in mind... You don't want the form blowing away while cruising down the highway 100 miles from competition!

If you are transporting your robot this way, please cover it up.
Last year, at SMR, a team brought their bot in a truck bed. They also used aluminum duct work for the basketballs. The ducts shredded their bag and it took awhile for them to get inspected.
Also, I hope you didn't put your B&T sheet inside the bag with the robot

[nicholsjj]

After pre-inspecting a team I would also encourage every team to look at their robots in the bag and see that they have the right wireless bridge. Veteran teams really need to make sure that they use the bridge that they got in the kop to pass. The old rev. A bridge will not pass inspection this year. I would also like to remind teams to update their drive stations.

The best way to get through inspections quickly is to go into the thursday of regionals with a plan. Make a list of every thing that your team will have to do to get through inspections. Be safe and do not get in a hurry when you do start making these changes and you will have a successful thursday.

[Phalanx]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

Wow! Absolutely nothing in there about safety shields for high speed rotating equipment.
Jason

Add me to the list for this one too. I think this could be a major safety issue. I've seen a few with wheels/discs spinning UN-captured or UN-encapsulated at very high RPM's that are probably beyond tolerances of the wheels/discs.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

OK,
I will bring this up but consider that rotating devices do come under the Safety Rule
R08
ROBOT parts shall not be made from hazardous materials, be unsafe, cause an unsafe condition, or interfere with the
operation of other ROBOTS.

A greater concern is materials used for friction on the rotating device. Please be sure that you have chosen wisely when you assembled your spinner/wheel/tire. Some of the wheels used in the past are not meant for the high RPM you may be running on your shooter.

[dchartley]

We built a curved 1/8" thick aluminum guard for our high speed pneumatic wheel so we wouldn't have problems during inspection because this had been mentioned in another thread.

Doug

[Wayne Doenges]

We are using the AM plaction wheels but we rivet and glue the tread on.
No failures yet.

Rememer, when you get to your regional, do not unbag your bot until told to do so.

[Iaquinto.Joe]

Originally Posted by Wayne Doenges

Rememer, when you get to your regional, do not unbag your bot until told to do so.

Oh yes, we had someone open it at our second regional too early. It was a sticky situation explaining that.

[Hebrew]

Is there any rule that can actually make our robot illegal if our shooter is not shielded? We are going to Lake Superior next week and the attached image is what it looks like (Our robot is slightly upgraded since then but the shooter is pretty much the same)

Adding a shield to our robot would be difficult since it is extremely close to the weight limit and we cannot mount it very securely. We have tested our shooter rigorously in the 2 weeks leading to the stop build day and never had an issue with it or the bolts loosening once setup properly.

If inspectors would require us to not use our shooter or shield it, it would be devastating.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Hebrew

Is there any rule that can actually make our robot illegal if our shooter is not shielded?

<R08> applies.

The TechnoKats ran unshielded high-RPM wheels on the disc shooter for weeks with no failures. The practice 'bot still lacks a shield at the moment. But the robot in the bag right now has a guard in place to keep it safe in case something comes apart at speed.

[Hebrew]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

<R08> applies.

The TechnoKats ran unshielded high-RPM wheels on the disc shooter for weeks with no failures. The practice 'bot still lacks a shield at the moment. But the robot in the bag right now has a guard in place to keep it safe in case something comes apart at speed.

If the shooter is securely mounted, and lock tight is used would that really cause a more unsafe condition than the Frisbee which is being shot? It will be interesting to see if an open shooter will pass inspection....but if not:

Would a simple shield over the wheels suffice, or would it have to be over the entire top if inspectors claim it to be unsafe? We will probably have to prepare a piece of metal to be mounted just in-case inspectors deem our robot unsafe.

[Brandon_L]

Hey Al-

Would you be willing to comment on the safety aspect of our shooter? (Image: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/38634)

Pretty much questioning if you were inspecting this robot, would you pass it?

Specifics:
8" Andymark pneumatics balanced by stacked washers on two bolts per wheel, with locknuts. The wheels are directly mounted to the CIM shafts by retaining rings (two stacked on one another to ensure it doesn't come out). The CIM mounts are VERY sturdy 1/4" thick aluminum and everything is securely bolted in/nylock nut secured.

Thank you very mucho for input

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Brandon et al,
I look at exposed wheels and get scared. The reason is many years ago when open reel tape recorders were still in use, one of my co-workers was fast winding 2" audio tape and just before the end of the reel he started slowing the reels in prep for removing the tape from the machine. He lost his attention for just a second and his fingers got caught in the open reel. He was lucky, some deep cuts but nothing broken or torn off. His bandage/splint stayed with him for almost 6 months. I still think of that day when I look at shooters.
What you have to think to yourself is "what safety issue does this cause when I run up the motors in the pit or practice field?" If you are scared, perhaps you need to do something. The GDC is thinking about this I am sure. In the past we were directed that high speed rotating devices need some form of cover. If asked for my opinion today, I would recommend a cover.

[Jaxom]

The 4 biggest issues I saw as an inspector at Hub City were:
1) Unshielded shooter wheels. I don't have an exact count but I'd be surprised to find out that fewer than 75% of teams had to add shields.
2) R86 violations. I personally saw at least 10 pneumatic systems; 9 of them had plastic tubing between the compressor & pressure relief valve & had to do rework to become legal. The good news was that I only had to help one team calibrate theirs.
3) Frame perimeter excursions. Way too many robots had to move things so they weren't sticking out past the frame in starting position.
4) Unshielded shooter wheels. I'd be amazed if more than 25% of the teams actually came in with proper shielding.

We also had the "normal" kinds of issues -- like sharp edges and battery terminals that weren't properly insulated -- that are easy fixes and should have never been seen by inspectors. We also had lots of poorly constructed bumpers. I spent most of Friday on the field; along with the things I was finding in queuing the head ref kept asking me to talk with teams about their bumpers falling off or sagging.