Exposed gears/chain

[robochick1319]

Originally Posted by pacoliketaco

Hi everyone,

I haven't been super active in the FIRST community since I graduated in '09, but in the 6 seasons since then (and especially at the PGH regional this past weekend) I've noticed more and more robots have exposed gears or sprockets/chains. I'm curious as to how this is legal; back when I was competing it was very important that these pinch points be covered, to some extent. And speaking from personal experience when I caught a finger between a moving sprocket and chain, why is this no longer a concern? On a very large number of robots I've seen, I could walk right up, and stick a finger or get caught in exposed gears, with zero protection around them. I understand it saves weight to not cover them, but at the expense of safety? Just seems a little odd to me.

I remember when this used to be a rule that was strictly enforced. You are right that it has gone away in recent years.

From a safety perspective, I think FIRST is relying on teams to put their own safety measures in place as guards. I can't speak for all teams obviously, but we have a "hands off" policy when the robot is on to prevent these sort of issues. You could walk right up and stick your finger in a robot that was on but that would be a breach of safety protocol.

Technically, even in the years 2006 - 2009 there we always ways a person could hurt themselves by intentionally putting their hand in or on a active robot (with or without guards).

That being said, lots of safety conscious teams will still design these sort of guards to protect their students. But suffice it to say, if you don't have authorization/permission/training to touch a robot (whether it is on or off) don't touch it.