Small ball inflation problem

[GregT]

Last year, at the first regional my team attended, we found the bins to be wider then we expected- 1 or 2 inches on every dimension.

The ball makers probably do not care if their balls are too big or small. They did not design the balls for space travel, they designed them to be kicked and thrown around a playground; the tolerances on the balls probably aren't very tight. I wouldn't be surprised if the ball manufacturer retools damaged/worn molds by expanding the cavity size (thereby making future balls produced by that mold larger).

FIRST could probably fix the problem by taking pressure out of the balls until they have the correct diameter, but then what about the teams that rely on the balls pressure and not their diameter? It depends on which is specified in the rules.

[Mike8519]

They have a sizing box for inflating them, and the rules state that balls are inflated to size, not pressure.

[Jay H 237]

I have also seen some of the balls I would classify as being oval and not exactly round.

[ngreen]

FIRST said the balls would be inflate from 12 to 14 inches. So an inch over isn't too much over. However an inch and a half would be.

[Josh Fritsch]

This happens every year when FIRST includes a game with balls. We made the mistake in 2002 and had a component that required a very specific ball size and we never got to use it. I guess you just have to count on never having a ball the correct size and design your 'bot that way. Sometimes there is just nothing you can do about it such as in 2000. With all the heat down at nationals in florida the balls were easily bigger than the projected size because of expansion.