Precharging

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Ari423

Is is very possible to charge a pneumatic system with little to no danger.

Ari,
You know this and I know this, but many teams do not. I have been hit by moving robot parts many times, including a few this year. I have seen big robot parts move when someone bumped the controls thinking that nothing was enabled. I have seen students operate a valve manually to test something and picked the wrong valve to operate. Just this year I have seen teams attempt to connect pneumatics to a speed controller, I have seen a coke bottle used as a storage tank, I have seen teams use various pumps to pressurize their systems and I have seen really big pistons used for climbing and shooting.

Everyone,
This is not a FIRST rule. It may be a restriction from the venue, the insurer or virtually anyone involved with the event, not employed by FIRST. And it may change from event to event. Remember, at every event we are guests. We are guests that want to be invited back in the future. Now here is some food for thought...Would you want a judge see your robot hurt someone? If you were hoping for Chairman's, Gracious Professionalism or even Safety, would that knock you out of the top spot? What if the person that was hurt was a judge?