Bumpers, snap on/snap off

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Please note: there have been rule changes in the bumper section of the robot rules in the past. Don't dedicate yourself to a bumper design just yet. I know there were many suggestions for the bumpers in the post mortem meetings. Things could change this year.

[bigbeezy]

I agree with Al. Heck their might not even be bumpers next year.

This past season had a lot more rules dealing with bumper construction. We were forced to rebuild our bumpers during week 6 once we found the rule about no extra holes in the wood.

Just a word of advice. Dont put off bumper making. Yes the robot it priority #1 (especially if bumpers are not required), but when designing your bot keep in mind how you want to secure the bumpers to the frame and how their placement will affect other parts of your bot. (you dont want a bumper to get in the way of you manipulator)

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by bigbeezy

(you dont want a bumper to get in the way of you manipulator)

...or be functionally impossible to put on once you have the whole robot together. (Wonder why 1618 ran without a back bumper at Chesapeake?)

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by bigbeezy

I agree with Al. Heck their might not even be bumpers next year.

Hope not, we bought a bunch of noodles on clearance.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by IndySam

Hope not, we bought a bunch of noodles on clearance.

Turn the students loose and get out of the way. They'll find a use for 'em!

Until the bumper rules for next year are released, think about possible methods. Can you: embed something inside the bumper? design the frame so that it's easy to get to a bolt/nut that's coming through? come up with something off-the-wall that's secure? Then see how those methods compare to the rules after Kickoff.