pic: Team 842 Tranmission Spine

[Andy Baker]

Originally Posted by Billfred

Don't bet on that.
(emphasis mine)An AM Shifter meets the criteria of a MECHANISM, not a COMPONENT, and therefore it must have been purchased after Kickoff under the current interpretation of the rules.

Originally Posted by falconmaster

Well it looks like we caused a lot of controversy! Woops! We will buy a new set of AM shifters. It looked like they were legal, but the rules tripped us up. They are unmodified and they are off the shelf, however they are mechanisms sooooo.........
We will get news ones to cover our bases. Sorry all

Fredi,

Don't do that yet.

I disagree with Sean, Billfred, Andy Brockaway and others who say that an AM Shifter (or other purchased, standard assembly) is illegal. Looking at the definition of MECHANISM, I see a key word in there: custom. We sell standard products, not custom assemblies. Let's look at the definition again:

"MECHANISM – A COTS or custom assembly of COMPONENTS that provide specific functionality on the ROBOT. A MECHANISM can be disassembled (and then reassembled) into individual COMPONENTS without damage to the parts."


I see this as an assembly of individual purchased parts. As an example, a keen designer, can go to http://www.misumiusa.com and buy tooling and components to make a custom assembly of individual purchased parts. This can be done without fabricating anything themselves. You could create a gripper, a frame, or a sliding mechanism that is a custom assembly from purchased parts.

If this rule is continued to be misinterpreted, then IFI Victors, HiTec servos, Dewalt transmissions, BaneBot gearboxes, joysticks, and other purchased assemblies (pre-kickoff, of course) might be deemed illegal by smart people.

I would be immensely suprised if pre-ship-date puchases of AndyMark brand assemblies are deemed not legal. Since 2002 (and maybe prior?), this has been legal. If FIRST were to make this significant change, then it would be wise and gracious to warn the FIRST teams and the supporting suppliers back in July, before the plan for the upcoming season.

Andy Baker