Small ball inflation problem

[Mike8519]

I dont know if anyone is having the same isues but at the Mid-atlantic regional we are having some serious problems with the size of the balls. Our robot has seperate channels for storing the balls, and have a half inch area of play on each side of a 13" ball. The FIRST balls get stuck in our robot however from being wedged in the sides. When we finally TRIED to stick a couple balls in the small ball sizer they would not fit. They were 1 to 1.5" too large in diameter.
I think this is unacceptable. Unfortunately I believe that at our regional we are the only team to rely on the ball size, so we won't have voice in numbers. I hope this isnt a problem elsewhere. Our Robot won't function correctly without the balls being at spec, or at least within a 3/4 inch size.
And Big Mike, if you are listening, fix the balls, or have some peons do it. I'd do it myself if I was allowed .

[KenWittlief]

I would be willing to bet the balls were the proper size when they were inflated, and they were all new so they streached out after a while

I would hope the FIRST crew will check them each morning at least - you are right, I can see a half inch, but not an inch and a half - Im sure other teams that collect and carry them will have similar problems.

Dont be afraid to approach the head ref and talk to him about this - you put a lot of work into your machine, and FIRST did layout some guidelines for variation, I dont think it was that large.

[ErichKeane]

At NJ, not only were the balls all the wrong size, we had before the first practice round, 1 ball that was easily double the size of the rest of em. I figure that woulda put a crimp in your mechanics...

[GregT]

Last year, at the first regional my team attended, we found the bins to be wider then we expected- 1 or 2 inches on every dimension.

The ball makers probably do not care if their balls are too big or small. They did not design the balls for space travel, they designed them to be kicked and thrown around a playground; the tolerances on the balls probably aren't very tight. I wouldn't be surprised if the ball manufacturer retools damaged/worn molds by expanding the cavity size (thereby making future balls produced by that mold larger).

FIRST could probably fix the problem by taking pressure out of the balls until they have the correct diameter, but then what about the teams that rely on the balls pressure and not their diameter? It depends on which is specified in the rules.

[Mike8519]

They have a sizing box for inflating them, and the rules state that balls are inflated to size, not pressure.

[Jay H 237]

I have also seen some of the balls I would classify as being oval and not exactly round.

[ngreen]

FIRST said the balls would be inflate from 12 to 14 inches. So an inch over isn't too much over. However an inch and a half would be.

[Josh Fritsch]

This happens every year when FIRST includes a game with balls. We made the mistake in 2002 and had a component that required a very specific ball size and we never got to use it. I guess you just have to count on never having a ball the correct size and design your 'bot that way. Sometimes there is just nothing you can do about it such as in 2000. With all the heat down at nationals in florida the balls were easily bigger than the projected size because of expansion.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by ErichKeane

At NJ, not only were the balls all the wrong size, we had before the first practice round, 1 ball that was easily double the size of the rest of em. I figure that woulda put a crimp in your mechanics...

I'm sorry, but I did not see any 26" 5 or 10 pt balls in NJ....

[ErichKeane]

Before the rounds started, the very first practice round, we had on our coral 1 HUGE ball, that looked like if you touched it wrong it was going to pop, and 2 possibly smaller balls. During the first day of competition, they were all almsot perfect from what i saw.