Duct tape

[falconmaster]

This is probably a weird question after so many iterations of duct tape jokes and what not, but is duct tape or packing tape allowed to like say hold a piece of foam on the robot this year? I looked in the rules and there is no mention of this being legal or not. Thanks in advance

[geomapguy]

Seems reasonable to me....maybe Al can chime in

[pntbll1313]

Duct tape is legal this year and has been for the past several. It's even legal on bumpers after quite a bit of controversy throughout the build season haha.

[GaryVoshol]

Prohibitions against tape were removed several years ago. Back at the time, the GDC urged teams not to go hog-wild with the tape and make ugly robots, else they would feel compelled to reinstate the ban in future years.

[Jaxom]

Originally Posted by pntbll1313

Duct tape is legal this year and has been for the past several. It's even legal on bumpers after quite a bit of controversy throughout the build season haha.

It's legal inside bumpers to hold the noodles on the backing board. It's not legal on the outside....

[GUI]

Freddy, if you want something spiffier than the regular old gray duct tape, I think David still has some of the pink Hello Kitty stuff.

[Arman1266]

Duct tape is legal. My team had to use some to keep the transmission on our intake together.... we also used duct tape in means so that we don't have to powder-coat our robot....

[KennyLives]

I recommend Gorilla Tape much more than the usual duct tape. It's stronger, stickier, and nicer-looking (usually). For stuff where you want to ever remove it, you'll prefer gaffer's tape. It's the stuff they use to put the lines on the fields, and is pretty easy to work with.

[pntbll1313]

Originally Posted by Jaxom

It's legal inside bumpers to hold the noodles on the backing board. It's not legal on the outside....

Exactly correct. Sorry I said that in a confusing way.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Duct tape is not specifically banned for use on FRC robots but...
1. It is not a fastener.
2. It is not an insulator (in some cases, but not predictable even in the same manufacturer)
3. It is ugly.

[yash101]

Originally Posted by GUI

Freddy, if you want something spiffier than the regular old gray duct tape, I think David still has some of the pink Hello Kitty stuff.

I have SpongeBob duct tape



DON'T BUILD YOUR ROBOT OUT OF DUCT TAPE UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BREAK BETWEEN EACH MATCH!

[Kingland093]

Originally Posted by Jaxom

It's legal inside bumpers to hold the noodles on the backing board. It's not legal on the outside....

My team has used it on the outside of our bumpers and the refs never said anything about it

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Kingland093

My team has used it on the outside of our bumpers and the refs never said anything about it

A couple of comments on this:

1) Duct tape (or gaffers' tape) is legal, for repairs at least.
2) If you're using it for numbers, and the numbers come off, someone really needs to talk to you--risk of non-compliance with G26.
3) If you had it at inspection, the inspectors, NOT the refs, could have told you whether or not it was illegal. (Just ask--most inspectors won't bite you for asking if something is or is not illegal.)
4) Just because the refs don't say anything doesn't mean it's legal. It may in fact mean that they don't care about that particular infraction, if there is one. But at your next event, the refs might have a little more time to care... and now you're not legal.

[cgmv123]

Originally Posted by Kingland093

My team has used it on the outside of our bumpers and the refs never said anything about it

Originally Posted by EricH

A couple of comments on this:

1) Duct tape (or gaffers' tape) is legal, for repairs at least.
2) If you're using it for numbers, and the numbers come off, someone really needs to talk to you--risk of non-compliance with G26.
3) If you had it at inspection, the inspectors, NOT the refs, could have told you whether or not it was illegal. (Just ask--most inspectors won't bite you for asking if something is or is not illegal.)
4) Just because the refs don't say anything doesn't mean it's legal. It may in fact mean that they don't care about that particular infraction, if there is one. But at your next event, the refs might have a little more time to care... and now you're not legal.

One more thing: "It passed at [previous event]!" is not a valid excuse.

[cadandcookies]

Legal, but my team banned it internally after last year anyway.

Never before have I seen a robot look so bad, so quickly...