Banebots 42mm - No Longer Availible!

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

So much for being a COTS supplier.

Shouldn't there be a clause that a supplier can't do something like that half-way through the season if a company decides to partner with FIRST?

That would be like the Trackball supplier phasing out the balls, and saying they aren't going to make them anymore.

I'm willing to cut our suppliers a bit of slack. It must be quite difficult running a business where there is a huge boom in demand for two or three weeks out of the year. I don't know what the year-round sales figures are for Banebots and AndyMark and others, but I imagine January sales are probably equal to the other 11 months combined. (Edit: Kind of like Christmas in retail... but crazier!)

Parts availablity is part of the engineering process, and while I can appreciate the frustration in seeing a needed part unavailable, I can also see how it would make business sense for the manufacturer to not order a new production run of a part that is going to be upgraded and improved in the near future.

Technically, however, I have to agree that since it is now no longer available, the 42mm gearbox may no longer be a COTS item. Does this mean that installed 42mm gearboxes must be removed from robots in order to pass tech inspection? (It seems ludicrous, since they were definitely COTS during build period...) I'm not sure if there is a Q&A clarifying for which time period an item must be "commonly available" in order to qualify for COTS status, or whether an item that is COTS during build remains COTS for the season even if it becomes unavailable for some period during the season.

Oh... and if I had one to bring, I'd bring it to Atlanta. We've got a 64:1 but only in the 36mm size. Sorry, but can't help there.

Jason