Update #5

[EricH]

Update #5 has been released. If you have a launcher, you need to read it thoroughly.
http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedFiles...Update%205.pdf

[lukevanoort]

Its nice to know that FIRST has taken care of the difficulty procuring replacement FP motors. The shooter suggestions also seem like very good and reasonable ideas. The "keep all high velocity parts within the main structure of the robot" suggestion seems kind of impossible for many designs (40" diameter ball, 28x38 robot...), but minimizing the protrusion seems like a very smart thing to do. The "Use remote triggers during tests" suggestion is one I'd like to emphasize - one of our mentors came within ~5ft of being hit in the head with a flying brick when a prototype catapult messed up (the brick ended up flying sideways towards him instead of forwards like we expected). A ball wouldn't be as bad as a brick (softer), but it could still do significant damage (not to mention if the launching device falls apart and flings its parts elsewhere).