our team is wanting to use a modified 4 piece corner bumper system with one side shorter and one side longer this year, with the goal of easy removal by a sliding latch, and the ability to fit in the black kit of parts box for transport. Cad is underway for them, and will be posted here soon. Has anyone ever tried anything like this or have warnings?
Plenty of teams have done four-piece bumper systems before. However, please review R401 in the game manual. Standard “4-corner bumpers” as used in previous years will not be allowed if they have gaps of more than 1/2" between the bumper units. Otherwise, I’m interested in seeing the CAD, as it’s not clear what benefits your proposed design has over 4 straight bumper pieces (one for each side of the frame, assuming a 4-sides frame).
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We’re planning on using bumpers shaped roughly like this
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With 4 of these, we will cover the full frame perimeter.
I will list benifits when i can pull up cad
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Cad is here
the main reasons for changing from c style bumpers are as follows:
- The main failure points of our bumpers have always been at the corners
- Failure genrally occours during transport and swapping
- 2 piece bumpers are unwieldy
The benifits of this new design are as follows:
- Like conventional 4 piece bumpers, it is much easier to handle the bumpers alone
- The change in length from standard edge bumpers allows for storage and transportation inside a kit of parts black box reducing damage from transport
- Despite having corners that could tear out, the short 5" segment provides little to grab, so when changes are occurring, the bumpers will not be held in a way that would put subtantial weight or pressure on the corner.
- Each edge is identical, meaning no swapping bumper halves around to find the corresponding side.
This is a cool design, I see no rule issues as long as the gap is less then 1/2”.
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Looks good! As long as you use good bumper construction practices, this seems like a perfectly viable solution. Ideally, have mounting points on the ends of both the short and long sides for highest strength.
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The game changer for sturdy corners for us is a section of .125" angle on the outside of the plywood, under the pool noodles.
The image shows a very tiny angle, but no size is specified, and we use larger 4" angle with 10 flathead screws through chamfered holes into t-nuts recessed into the plywood.
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