WITH HOLDING

[martin417]

Originally Posted by alyssa2485

Anything that is fabricated (even a gearbox that you assembled) counts to your 30lbs.

(emphasis mine)

This has been stated before, and I do not agree with that interpretation. If you buy a gearbox, and it arrives in the un-assembled state, and you assemble it according to the directions, it is still a COTS item. If you count assemble as a "modification", then you can't use any gearboxes from a previous years' robot, as it was fabricated prior to the season. I know some teams buy shifting transmissions (expensive) and use them for several years. I believe this is within the spirit of the rules.

If you are going to point out that you could disassemble and then re-assemble the gearbox to make it legal, then I have to say that is just dumb. I don't believe that the GDC wants teams to perform mindless tasks that have no benefit to the kids.

Suppose I bought the gearbox, then paid a third party to assmeble it. Is it then COTS by your definition? It is certainly something that is available to any team, so it meets that definition. Again, I don't believe that the GDC wants teams to go through such meaningless activities.

If your interpretation was correct, then I would expect to see a business pop up that offers assembled gearboxes for sale so teams could bring them to an event. Someone could set up a website, allow teams to order, say, a versaplanetary from him, he could then order it from Vex, assemble it, and ship it to the team as a COTS item, for a markup. Again, I don't think that is what FIRST wants.

If an item is bought in an un-assembled state, and subsequently assembled to the directions (so it ends up in the state intended by the manufacturer), then it is still COTS.