**FIRST EMAIL**/Advance Material List for the 2005 Competition Now Available!

[Madison]

Originally Posted by T. Hoffman

This list contains common materials required to build the robot or field elements for the 2005 competition that are not included in the kit provided by FIRST.

I added emphasis to the above quote. I am on my lunch break at work and don't have time to find last year's BOM release, but did it use similar language? I'm intrigued to see what sort of "robot elements" we might be required to build.

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

I added emphasis to the above quote. I am on my lunch break at work and don't have time to find last year's BOM release, but did it use similar language? I'm intrigued to see what sort of "robot elements" we might be required to build.

My guess? The magnet is meant to be installed on the robot. Points will be scored for capturing/docking with a magnetic field target during autonomous.

[Steve W]

The magnet can be used to unlock a gate or opening device so that you can get "out" to the center. Remember the clue that was denied???

[jdhawg]

Originally Posted by T. Hoffman

My guess? The magnet is meant to be installed on the robot. Points will be scored for capturing/docking with a magnetic field target during autonomous.

Maybe a Magnetic Field Target with a built-in IR Beacon??????? Oh, my head hurts just thinking about it.

[jgannon]

Originally Posted by T. Hoffman

My guess? The magnet is meant to be installed on the robot. Points will be scored for capturing/docking with a magnetic field target during autonomous.

If the magnet is meant to be installed on the robot, why aren't they including it in the Kit of Parts? Nonetheless, I still like that idea. Anything involving scoring in autonomous would be awesome.

[MikeDubreuil]

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic?

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic?

24 PVC end caps sized for the ten pieces of conduit and and only 1 coupling? No elbows that I can see listed. I don't think we'll have much more than straight runs unless they have conduit elbows in the kit which seems unlikely.

[MikeDubreuil]

Originally Posted by Dzdconfusd

24 PVC end caps sized for the ten pieces of conduit and and only 1 coupling? No elbows that I can see listed. I don't think we'll have much more than straight runs unless they have conduit elbows in the kit which seems unlikely.

Yeah, but by your same argument; what are the other 8 pipes connected to- nothing? I'd have to presume either many parts are in the kit or a revised field parts list is coming out.

I'm no expert in building materials but I would assume that 10ft sections of pipe are the largest that the average person can easily transport. I'm guessing they won't stay that size and the field blueprints will require teams to cut up the 10ft sections into something smaller.

[Joshua May]

In addition to such strange items as the 35 ANSI chain link connector, the magnet, and the project box, I'm especially intrigued by the paint and the square foot of Lexan. As far as the paint, I'm mostly interested in the fact that only 1 quart is listed, that's a fairly small amount, I think. And this square foot of Lexan, that's smaller than the footprints of the robots (for previous years anyways). In comparison to the field (at least from 2003 and 2004) that's pretty small in size.

Oh, I just can't wait until Saturday.

[Katie Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Joshua May

As far as the paint, I'm mostly interested in the fact that only 1 quart is listed, that's a fairly small amount, I think.

One quart of paint will cover about 96 square feet, on a non-porous surface.

[phrontist]

That square foot of lexan is going to be a base, as in baseball. Robots will have to "tag" the base magnetically, or maybe they can detect when they are on the base through a Hall Effect sensor or Reed switch.

[Joe Ross]

What part did Dave Lavery see when he first walked into Home Depot?

[Skabana159]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic?

I would find this extremely hard to believe. I think it is well precedented that robots be barred for even touching the PVC parts, much less putting thier entire weight on them. Remeber how we had to grab steel bars on the soccer ball game

[kmcclary]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

There's 100 feet of 1 1/4 in. Sch. 40 Electrical Conduit. Hmm... with all this pipe- anyone thinking of Ladder Logic?

Doubt it. And not enough connectors to make a complex PVC "ball" to grab either, unless wood is involved.

I'm going to assume the PVC is EITHER for yet another goal with fingers pointed up, or else up to 12 "rungs" on a ladder with wooden sides. Holes in the wood and the caps nicely act as retainers for a ladder. You also have enough plywood again for a 4x4' by two layer base again, to form a static version of last year's rolling goal.

Note that the only significant steel in the BOM is the four washers (item 14).
Their 2" diameter would nicely work with the magnet.

One possibility is that the washers are mounted in various positions on the static item, and that the magnet is attached to the box, making a grabbing "token" that can have up to four separate positions.

Another interesting thing to note is that you can EXACTLY cover two sides of the plastic box with the four washers (two per side), to make a box that can be easily PLACED onto the magnet by the robot.

I HIGHLY doubt that the magnet goes on the robot. A good use for it would be to have either Hall Effect sensors or Reed Switch in the kit, and DETECT the magnet with the robot.

But, I'm pretty sure that the washers and the magnet do go together.

Hey... You could make a "magnetically selectable" device of some kind with four detent positions! Imagine a "selector switch" for three alliances and Zero, that robots would have to "set" to determine who would own the points in the goal. (Probably not that much fun though... You'd be fighting over the "switch", or hovering over it.)

Since there is no chain included, the ANSI 35 link is probably a "poor man's coupler/hinge", to add a degree of freedom to something small on the assembly.

BTW... Does anyone here think that the quantities of the 4-40 and 10-24 nuts are misprinted?? There are (5) 4-40 screws and (2) 10-24 screws, but the OPPOSITE quantities of nuts for them.

- Keith

[dubious elise]

after some discussions i had today, i really think that those PVC endcaps will be for short pieces that would be used as game/scoring pieces, like the balls were last year. i was told that we would need 1000 endcaps overall to build the entire field, though only 24 are listed on the advance materials list.