[FRC Blog] Pool Noodles for the 2017 Season

[ctt956]

Is there a way to spotlight an entire thread?

[sanddrag]

Anyone have a cheap source for quality dense and or solid noodles? We're totally out.

[bkahl]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Anyone have a cheap source for quality dense and or solid noodles? We're totally out.

http://www.andymark.com/bumper-p/am-3057_32.htm

[BotDesigner]

Just out of curiosity, are there any teams that don't use the round pool noodles and go with one of the other shapes? It seems to me that the shape of pool noodles in the bumpers could dramatically affect robot to robot contact and I am a little surprised that I have never seen it discussed here.

[asid61]

Originally Posted by BotDesigner

Just out of curiosity, are there any teams that don't use the round pool noodles and go with one of the other shapes? It seems to me that the shape of pool noodles in the bumpers could dramatically affect robot to robot contact and I am a little surprised that I have never seen it discussed here.

I was wondering this too. I feel like the flower noodles would be better served to compress a bit more over the round noodles, which might help in playing defense. Has anybody conducted an impromptu study on this?

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by asid61

I was wondering this too. I feel like the flower noodles would be better served to compress a bit more over the round noodles, which might help in playing defense. Has anybody conducted an impromptu study on this?

I haven't seen flower noodles in local stores in any diameter. We have enough trouble finding anything between 2-1/4" and 2-3/4" in round to worry about shapes.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by BotDesigner

Just out of curiosity, are there any teams that don't use the round pool noodles and go with one of the other shapes? It seems to me that the shape of pool noodles in the bumpers could dramatically affect robot to robot contact and I am a little surprised that I have never seen it discussed here.

The bigger issue is really solid versus hollow - solid bumper noodles compress less and resist T-Bone pins, but hollow bumper noodles compress more and are better for performing said pins and other defensive maneuvers.

If I were so hyper-competitive that I wanted to give my robotics team every edge possible, I'd consider making one of each and switching bumpers based on strategy. But I don't know if I want to put in that much effort.

[Tartan47]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

If I were so hyper-competitive that I wanted to give my robotics team every edge possible, I'd consider making one of each and switching bumpers based on strategy. But I don't know if I want to put in that much effort.

Originally Posted by FRC Blog

They may either be solid or hollow, but all noodles used on the robot at any one time will be required to be of the same construction and cross section – in other words, you will not be allowed to use solid round noodles on the bottom of your bumper and hollow petal noodles on the top.

I believe the strategy Chris mentioned would still be allowed in 2017? (Assuming one were willing to make 4 sets of bumpers for Red/Blue and Offensive/Defensive)

Pure speculation, but I'm wondering if solid noodles on bottom and hollow noodles on top would allow a robot to have a better chance of "getting under" an opposing robot depending on that robot's bumper height and this could aid in a pushing match

[ASD20]

Originally Posted by Tartan47

Pure speculation, but I'm wondering if solid noodles on bottom and hollow noodles on top would allow a robot to have a better chance of "getting under" an opposing robot depending on that robot's bumper height and this could aid in a pushing match

Not a good strategy at all. If you go into a season with the intention of "getting under" other robots, I can all but guarantee you will end up with at least one red card for tipping. It was bad enough as is this year with the large bumper zone and most robots were not even top heavy.

[notmattlythgoe]

Originally Posted by ASD20

Not a good strategy at all. If you go into a season with the intention of "getting under" other robots, I can all but guarantee you will end up with at least one red card for tipping. It was bad enough as is this year with the large bumper zone and most robots were not even top heavy.

That was the strategy previously. It often resulted in a red card for the other team because of contact inside of your frame perimeter. This happened decently often in 2014.

[Mike Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Tartan47

I believe the strategy Chris mentioned would still be allowed in 2017? (Assuming one were willing to make 4 sets of bumpers for Red/Blue and Offensive/Defensive)

Pure speculation, but I'm wondering if solid noodles on bottom and hollow noodles on top would allow a robot to have a better chance of "getting under" an opposing robot depending on that robot's bumper height and this could aid in a pushing match

How does 2 sets of each color work with weigh in?

Yes solid on bottom and hollow on top and pulling the fabric as tight as possible makes your bumpers a slight wedge and is likely why this was ruled illegal. I believe 469 did this on their world champion 2014 robot.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Mike Schreiber

How does 2 sets of each color work with weigh in?

Yes solid on bottom and hollow on top and pulling the fabric as tight as possible makes your bumpers a slight wedge and is likely why this was ruled illegal. I believe 469 did this on their world champion 2014 robot.

I thought the weight limit was per bumper assembly?

Regardless, you could just have two reversible bumpers.

[ASD20]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I thought the weight limit was per bumper assembly?

Regardless, you could just have two reversible bumpers.

It is per set of bumpers. I had just checked because I was unsure of that as well. (Per 2016 rules).

[FrankJ]

There is space on the robot inspection form to weigh two set of bumpers. RIs tend to go by the inspection form & not like anything that doesn't fit on the form. You would probably get by with two sets of reversible bumpers. Absent something specific in the rules or Q&A, I think more than two sets is iffy and would depend on the LRI at the event. Insert the usual disclaimer about prior years rules.

[ASD20]

Originally Posted by FrankJ

There is space on the robot inspection form to weigh two set of bumpers. RIs tend to go by the inspection form & not like anything that doesn't fit on the form. You would probably get by with two sets of reversible bumpers. Absent something specific in the rules or Q&A, I think more than two sets is iffy and would depend on the LRI at the event. Insert the usual disclaimer about prior years rules.

I would say per 2016, >2 sets of bumpers are pretty clearly allowed. Relevant rules are R20 and R27. As long as a team is prepared with the rules, they should have no problem with the majority of LRIs.