Bushings as Additional Hardware....

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Posted by Jim Meyer.

Engineer on team #67, HOT Team, from Huron Valley Schools and GM Milford Proving Ground.

Posted on 10/31/2000 11:08 AM MST



I noticed a comment in the team forum about allowing bearings as additional hardware. That would be great for us, but I'm not sure it would be as good for a team that is not funded as well as we are. Bearings seem to be pretty expensive. If we can't get some freedom on bearings, how about bushings?

Bushings are pretty cheap and we seem to spend a lot of time just keeping track of how much of what size bushing we used for our Small Parts price list. Keeping track of them is harder than paying for them from our Small Parts budget. I can't imagine that any inspector could determine whether our list was accurate or not anyway. (Last year we had around 30 bushings.)

I would like to see a provision for any size bushing whose ID is less than 0.5 inches, or something to that effect.

What does everyone else think?

p.s. I know we could go on listing them separately. This is really more about something that I view as an unnecessary inconvenience.

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Posted by Raul.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Engineer on team #111, Wildstang, from Rolling Meadows & Wheeling HS and Motorola.

Posted on 10/31/2000 4:27 PM MST


In Reply to: Bushings as Additional Hardware.... posted by Jim Meyer on 10/31/2000 11:08 AM MST:



I assume by bushings you mean sleeve bearings versus ball bearings. Anyway, why not make all forms of bearings or bushings additional parts.

I generally believe that the more they open up the additional hardware list, the better (more fair) it is for less funded teams. Believe me when I tell you, we can make almost anything from raw Small Parts materials if we are willing to pay for it, including ball bearings. It is just a matter of how much money you have to spend to get it made.

FIRST should only exclude exotic components or materials, such as Titanium, that cost so much that only the heavily funded teams can afford.

Raul

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Posted by Joe Johnson.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Engineer on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.

Posted on 10/31/2000 7:29 PM MST


In Reply to: Re: Bushings as Additional Hardware.... posted by Raul on 10/31/2000 4:27 PM MST:



I am with Raul-The-Magnificent on this one.

It used to be that only folks with access to a wire EDM machine could really use gears effectly on their robots. Back then, SPI Bucks forced teams to limit gears or else by $3 worth of steel from SPI and then spend $200-300 turning that steel into a functioning gear. Now, anyone with $30 can buy a gear and not have to worry about it pushing them over the SPI Buck limit. To my way of thinking, this is better for all teams.

Bearings, wheels and steel rods/shafts/tubes are the only major pieces of the puzzle that are missing.

Joe J.