Is the use of slip rings legal?

[dradius]

Use of slip ring in order to be able to spin wheel 360* without having to put a limit on the chain?

[GregT]

Do you mean a slipring for electrical connections? I'm almost certain it would be illegal to run electricity through something thats not a wire.

I believe this was brought up last year (or the year before) and discussed in depth.

Greg

[Adam Y.]

To be perfectly honest I do not think that is what he is talking about. He is being a bit cryptic but apaerntly he is talking about something the drivetrain. Can you elaborate??

[GregT]

Originally Posted by Adam Y.

To be perfectly honest I do not think that is what he is talking about. He is being a bit cryptic but apaerntly he is talking about something the drivetrain. Can you elaborate??

Slip Rings:
http://www.polysci.com/SlipRings/slipring.html
ARE these legal? Could they be considered part of a custom circuit? I have no idea.


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If you mean something else and it's only mechanical it's probably legal, but better clarify to make sure. You want to spin a wheel (a drive wheel?) more then 360 degrees?

Greg

[David66]

Am not positive about the entire slipring concept, however the bruches and the ring conducting electricity ARE legal...66 used them oon our mini-bot in '02 and i dont think that specific robot rule has been revised since then

[Rickertsen2]

It would be my interpretation of the rules, that there is nothign against slip rings, as long as they are rated for whatever it is you are using them for. Look at the parts flow chart.

[KenWittlief]

I think it would be considered an electrical component, and therefore it would have to be available from one of the three catalog sources to be legal.

I dont know what you are up to that you want to use one- it boggles my mind just thinking about it.

[Rickertsen2]

None of what any of us say really means anything official, or is necessarily correct. If you are in doubt, i would recommend you ask FIRST.

[Matt Leese]

In general, in the past, FIRST has held that any properly insulated electrical connector is fine as long as it is rated to a higher degree than the circuit breaker that is installed on the same circuit. Obviously, that does not mean that it would be legal this year but I would believe that it would not be illegal.

Matt

[ChrisH]

In the past, slip rings were specifically mentioned as things you could not use. However I saw no mention of them in the rules this year, and I'm not sure just when that little rule dropped from sight. So as long as it meets the other requirements for the electrical system I think it's OK.