Game Manual - Team Update - 2014-03-11

[Hallry]

Posted on the FRC Manual site, 3/11/14: http://frc-manual.usfirst.org/Updates/0#term 175

Game Manual - Team UPDATE - 2014-03-11

Game Manual

General Updates

During the 2014 FRC Season, two FRC teams have experienced major failures of the white plastic Clippard pneumatic storage tanks distributed via FIRST Choice in 2013. Two additional failures occurred during the 2013 FRC Season. In one of the 2014 situations, a metal hose clamp was used to secure the tank to the robot. The clamp was over-tightened, causing improper stress on the tank. In the second situation, the team was attempting to fix a leak between the tank and the metal fitting while the tank was pressurized. Thankfully, no one was hurt in either of these situations.

As we said in a blog post last year, there are some steps a team can take to help mitigate the risks of a failure in this manner.

1. Do not work on any part of the pneumatic system while it is pressurized. If you need to tighten a fitting, release the pressure from the system, tighten the fitting, and then repressurize the system to check for leaks.
2. Use the FRC Robot Control System to pressurize the pneumatic system. Robot Rule R80 requires the compressor to be controlled and powered by the robot, even if the compressor is off-board. Powering the compressor directly from a battery is not only illegal, it is unsafe.
3. Clippard recommends using 2-4 layers of PTFE tape on the fitting. Using more than this could increase stress around the plastic threads, weakening the tank.
4. Tighten the ¼” NPT fitting to 10-12 inch pounds (do not to exceed 15 inch pounds). Over-torqueing NPT threads in plastic pressure tanks can introduce stress and cracks that could lead to failures. Do not measure installation based on distance or number of threads exposed as there is a large variance on NPT threading from a variety of manufacturers.
5. If there is a leak detected, do not continue threading in the fitting. Remove the fitting and reapply the tape sealant.
6. If possible, use the provided attachment method for securing the tank to the robot. Do not use attachment methods that introduce extra stress or deform the tank.
7. Protect the tanks. This game has seen a lot of high speed interaction between robots on the field. Sometimes, pieces from one robot reach into and contact pieces inside another robot. A thin sheet of plastic can help protect both pneumatic and control system components inside the robot.
8. Don’t use chemicals on plastic tanks that can erode or compromise the integrity of the tank material.

Section 3.2.5: ROBOT Actions

G26-1

ROBOTS may not break the planes of the openings of the opponent’s LOW GOAL in an attempt to impede opponent SCORING in that GOAL.

Violation: FOUL. If extended, strategic, or repeated, TECHNICAL FOUL.



Section 4.5: Material Utilization

The purpose of R18 is to give all Teams at each Event the same access to the same amount of unbagged FABRICATED ITEMS. A Team bringing more than 45 lbs, but leaving the items outside the venue, has access to more than 45 lbs and is violating this rule. The change below is being made to accomplish two objectives:

To make the intent of R18 explicitly clear.
To make verification of R18 easier for Inspectors at each Event.

R18

At an Event, Teams may have access to a static set of FABRICATED ITEMS that shall not exceed 45 lbs. This static set of items may only be brought into the Pits when the Team initially loads in at the Event. Items made at an Event do not count towards this weight limit.

For Teams attending 2-Day Events, these FABRICATED ITEMS may be used during the Robot Access Period and/or brought to the Event, but the total weight may not exceed 45 lbs. FABRICATED ITEMS constructed during the Robot Access Period and bagged with the ROBOT are exempt from this limit.

Items exempt from this limit are:

1. the OPERATOR CONSOLE,
2. BUMPERS, and
3. any ROBOT battery assemblies (as described in R5-A).

Glad to hear G26 is being updated to only affect purposeful intrusions.

[Gregor]

Excellent update. It solves the issue with inconsequentially breaking the plane of the opponents low goal, and warns all of the dangers of using pneumatics, to hopefully avoid another scary situation like ours at GTRW.

[bduddy]

I like the update to R18. Leave your practice bots at home, people. (EDIT: Yes, yes, I know, I am oversimplifying a complicated discussion and not being entirely accurate. Do whatever you want with your practice bots as long as it's within the rules, I don't care. Happy now?)

Hopefully G26-1 doesn't become another source of soft technical fouls.

[PayneTrain]

R18, after years of it and its equivalent rules being shrouded in mystery of explicit intent, finally get the ruling most people expected, whether or not they wanted it.

Neat.

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by bduddy

I like the update to R18. Leave your practice bots at home, people.

David got a rule! yay....

[Kevin Sheridan]

Originally Posted by bduddy

I like the update to R18. Leave your practice bots at home, people.

You can still bring you practice bot to get COTS items off of it.

[Mark Sheridan]

Glad on the pneumatic tank warnings. Hopefully we won't see another accident


Also if R18 was not clear enough before, it has to be clear now. I may not like the rule, but I am pretty happy that my team prepared for it all season and we know exactly what we are bringing in to the event and budgeted mass for spare fabricated parts appropriately.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by bduddy

I like the update to R18. Leave your practice bots at home, people.

It actually doesn't mention any of what you just said at all, just clarifies that the 45 lbs is static and during load in.

[DampRobot]

Sigh... Another week, another round of regionals with insane controversy over technical fouls. Unless the GDC makes major changes in the worth or enforcement of fouls, every single competition will be marred by some major controversy over a game deciding tech foul, including Einstein. Also, no mention of a fix to the pedestal issues, another major issue that needs to be fixed ASAP.

[nixiebunny]

I caused a rule change (R18). Whee!

I am still not clear on whether it's OK to bring a practice bot to a nearby storage facility and remove COTS parts from it, as long as no fabricated items are removed from it and brought into the venue.

That's what started the whole brouhaha in the first place. I never planned to take pieces of the robot itself into the venue (it's a fragile practice machine with wooden gussets), just as a source of Talons, CIMs etc.

Whatever... We'll bring a couple Talons and CIMs to the Phoenix regional, and leave the practice bot in Tucson.

[Kevin Kolodziej]

But what truly is a COTS part if its on a practice robot?

Need a gearbox? I bet it didn't arrive from the supplier assembled, so its no longer COTS.

Need a motor? I bet it didn't arrive from the supplier with terminals on the ends, so its no longer COTS. It might have even had a pinion on it when you got it that probably isn't there anymore.

Need a motor controller? I bet it didn't arrive from the supplier with lugs in the screw connection, so its no longer COTS.

Need some raw material? OK, get your hacksaw out and take as large a chunk as you can from that bot and trim it to size in your pit.

My point is, COTS items are rarely still COTS items on a practice bot. Even if they are truly unmodified, however, they are attached to a larger assembly (the robot) which is more than 45 pounds, and therefore would need to be brought in during initial load-in.

You do what you want, but our practice bot will be staying at home (and not just because we don't have a trailer to keep it in).

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Kevin Kolodziej

But what truly is a COTS part if its on a practice robot?

Need a gearbox? I bet it didn't arrive from the supplier assembled, so its no longer COTS.

Need a motor? I bet it didn't arrive from the supplier with terminals on the ends, so its no longer COTS. It might have even had a pinion on it when you got it that probably isn't there anymore.

Need a motor controller? I bet it didn't arrive from the supplier with lugs in the screw connection, so its no longer COTS.

Need some raw material? OK, get your hacksaw out and take as large a chunk as you can from that bot and trim it to size in your pit.

My point is, COTS items are rarely still COTS items on a practice bot. Even if they are truly unmodified, however, they are attached to a larger assembly (the robot) which is more than 45 pounds, and therefore would need to be brought in during initial load-in.

You do what you want, but our practice bot will be staying at home (and not just because we don't have a trailer to keep it in).

Yay! forcing teams to spend more money for no net gain.

Gotta love it.

[cgmv123]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

Also, no mention of a fix to the pedestal issues, another major issue that needs to be fixed ASAP.

The FMS issues can be fixed with a software update, which aren't normally mentioned in Team Updates.

[Kevin Kolodziej]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Yay! forcing teams to spend more money for no net gain.

Gotta love it.

Or you could just take those items off your practice bot and revert them to their COTS state (unassemble gearboxes, remove leads, etc.) before you leave for competition. That doesn't cost any money.