Al's Annual Inspection Thread 2013

[Jaxom]

Originally Posted by JVN

Actually, they say quite a bit more. Paraphrasing rules can be extremely counter-productive in discusssions like this.

Maybe, but it can also make posts shorter. But in any case, that's not a paraphrase; that's a direct quote, except for adding emphasis to "must". I'd hope that anyone that's concerned about this particular debate has a copy of the rules at his or her fingertips and could read the parts I didn't include.

The question I was answering was "how can you exclude metal backing?" Having the rule written the way it is allows a logical way to do that, and that's all I was trying to say.

Originally Posted by JVN

As long as the bumpers weigh less than 20 lbs, are rigid enough to survive competition, follow the construction rules which heavily define the outside face of the bumpers and don't have attachment (hard) parts that stick out too far -- does it matter what the construction is?

Apparently, yes:

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

There are some nice drawings that are part of the rule, in particular Figure 4-4. However, please note, the pool noodles and the bumper rules do not allow for the addition of weight to increase the overall weight of the robot. You may not add steel rod, brass, shot or other high mass material to the interior of the pool noodles. Also note that the optional angle stock shown in Figure 4-4 is specified as aluminum. If your bumpers are modified in a such a way, please be prepared to remove the additional weight at your event.

I think we're well into the "lawyering" of the rules that we've been encouraged not to do. I'm having trouble coming up with a reason to add metal backing to the bumpers for any reason except to add weight. Please share if you have something else in mind.