Things generally forgotten before ship.

[Justin Montois]

Thanks for posting this. This is a huge help to rookie and veteran teams alike.

[IndySam]

Great advise Al as usual.

I would add when you measure your robot make sure it is square. It may measure fine with a tape measure and still not fit in the sizing box. Find a nice square wall and floor to measure against.

[Jimmy Nichols]

Thanks Al, I know your job is one of the hardest and probably less appreciated.

I would add to those Rookie teams to not forget about the Inspection BOM.

[Travis Hoffman]

Don't forget to install the Robot Signal Light.

Insulate all exposed electrical connections on the robot with electrical tape. Make sure the 6 AWG leads to your robot battery terminals are connected securely and thoroughly insulated.

Make sure both your pneumatics manual dump valve (if equipped) and 120A circuit breaker are easily accessible and visible. Label their locations if possible.

ROBOT GRAPHICS - many teams in the past have come to us in our pit to use our printer and print out 4" high, 1" stroke minimum team numbers, print out team sponsors, the school name, etc. to comply with robot "labeling" rules during inspection. Don't wait until the competition to create and install your graphics. Consider putting your team numbers on your bumpers, making sure they meet the minimum size requirements.

[Engineer]

Thanks Al for posting this.

I sent this to our rookie team. It's hard to explain to high school students that there is no wiggle room until they see it for themselves. They seem to find an excuse for everything.

Thanks and 73,
KØBR

[Russ Beavis]

Don't forget to implement the ESD rework for the Driver Station (although you are allowed to withhold this particular item).

Make sure that your cRIO and Axis camera are electrically isolated from your chassis.

Make sure that you've got all of the latest software updates.

Make sure that you've configured the first Analog Breakout for battery voltage monitoring.

Make sure that you've got datasheets for your servos to document max torque and speed at 6Vdc.

Russ

[Russ Beavis]

One more -

No robot parts are allowed to extend beyond the BUMPER PERIMETER.

Russ

[Ken Stafford]

Originally Posted by Russ Beavis

One more -

No robot parts are allowed to extend beyond the BUMPER PERIMETER.

Russ

This point is very important and different from any other year! It is not enough that your robot fit into the sizing box--it also must ONLY contact the bumper zone when pushed against ANY of the sizing box sides! A safely small footprint around the perimeter is still illegal if some bolthead protudes beyond this perimeter (even if still well within the max 28 by 38 dimensions).

[Russ Beavis]

Just to be clear - it's OK for small boltheads and shafts to extend slightly beyond the BUMPER PERIMETER but only in the BUMPER ZONE. In other words, the bumpers are allowed to be subtly scalloped to accommodate such minor protrusions.

BUT imagine extending the entire BUMPER PERIMETER vertically upwards to the 60" height limit. Nothing can ever break through that surface (above the BUMPER ZONE).

Russ

[JVN]

Originally Posted by Ken Stafford

This point is very important and different from any other year! It is not enough that your robot fit into the sizing box--it also must ONLY contact the bumper zone when pushed against ANY of the sizing box sides! A safely small footprint around the perimeter is still illegal if some bolthead protudes beyond this perimeter (even if still well within the max 28 by 38 dimensions).

This Q&A leads me to believe your interpretation of the rules is incorrect.
http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=11761

-John

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by IndySam

I would add when you measure your robot make sure it is square. It may measure fine with a tape measure and still not fit in the sizing box. Find a nice square wall and floor to measure against.

Good point! but also be sure the top of our robot is a bit smaller than the bottom, just in case you encounter the sizing box that is not square.

[Meredith Novak]

Thanks Al for the great reminders. I will forward this to our compliance officer. We were just discussing last night how hard we were on you last year. I promise (creating distracting) we won't be pushing multiple limits this year