How much of our wheel used for the shooter can be exposed?

[waialua359]

It seems that this is a grey area. Do we have to fully encase our shooter wheel which is used to "shoot" our ball? I noticed on the teasers that many schools have the wheel exposed.
Ours would still be within the realms of our robot frame.

Please help. We are not sure and plan on mounting our shooter soon.

[Chriszuma]

Well the manual just says it has to be protected to prevent injury. I would say you need lexan or wire mesh over any spinning part that one could conceivably stick their finger and get it chewed off.

[dtengineering]

I certainly hope the tech inspectors will be reasonable in this regard. We have covered up our shooting wheel everywhere EXCEPT for where the ball comes out. Thus while it is unlikely that one could accidentally place their hand into the shooting mechanism, it could be done intentionally, I suppose.

In any case if we were to cover up the wheel any more we wouldn't be able to shoot...

Jason

[Chriszuma]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

I certainly hope the tech inspectors will be reasonable in this regard. We have covered up our shooting wheel everywhere EXCEPT for where the ball comes out. Thus while it is unlikely that one could accidentally place their hand into the shooting mechanism, it could be done intentionally, I suppose.

In any case if we were to cover up the wheel any more we wouldn't be able to shoot...

Jason

Yeah, but if we had to protect against intentional sticking of hands where they shouldn't be stuck, then no team's drivetrain or turret would be allowed.

[BrianR]

Originally Posted by Chriszuma

Yeah, but if we had to protect against intentional sticking of hands where they shouldn't be stuck, then no team's drivetrain or turret would be allowed.

I agree it sounds unreasonable that the whole wheel should be shielded, but we should be careful not to overinterpret the rules. The fact is that Q&A hasn't really given an exact answer to this, and thus the real test will be the first regional. As such, it may be prudent to think of a way to cover the wheel when not shooting, with something like a door, just in case this rule comes back to bite us. I personally agree that it is unreasonable to keep the whole shooter covered, as the ball must leave from some point, but then again, the rules are meant for safety, not simplicity of compliance. One solution to this would be to make you wheel similar to a tablesaw, where it retracts while not in shooting mode, or simply having a flap over the ball exit chute. In any case, it should be presented to Q&A, but I personally am considering a contingency plan.