COTS: How far should it go?

[IG100MagnaGuard]

There seems to be a lot of talk about these pre-made assemblies helping lower resource teems be competitive, but it depends on who you're talking about. My brother was part of a team who had to survive on $200 a year, not nearly enough for any of these competitive COTS options. COTS parts only helps those who can afford them, and if teams have to spend $1000 to have a competitive drivetrain they are going to have to neglect putting money into resources that will help them in the long run.

Additionally, even if teams can afford these options does it actually help to inspire students? I know I at least do not enjoy building something that someone else came up with as much as something I designed myself. If the goal of FIRST is to get students engaged and inspired in building robots, why not let us design a robot? Even if it fails I can have pride in what I have accomplished.

This is not to say all COTS products are bad. The highest precision tools in my shop are a miter saw and a Drill Press (which I'm no longer sure is true). Having COTS gearboxes and parts whose precision I can trust are necessities in order for us to have a fully functioning robot. My argument is solely to say that I would rather have cheaper COTS parts that give me more design choices than larger, pre-made assemblies that only represent one good option.