There has been many discussions on my team of whether staples are allowed or not allowed when building the FTC robot. Some member are arguing that they are made of alluminum, therefore they should be allowed. I do not agree with this statement, but if anyone can give my team a clear answer for us, it would be a great help to our team.
I think that you should check the FTC Q&A forums. [friendly reminder] Nothing said here is official, or can be interpreted as official.[/reminder]
That said, you’d have better chances with the argument that it is a “compatible mechanical fastener” based on FTC <R5-C-13>. Remember, the FTC game designers may disagree with me on this, so you’ll want to ask them.
Edit: When I checked the FTC Q&A, I couldn’t find anything specifically on staples, but I got the impression that they would not be allowed unless you did in fact make your own from the aluminum sheet. However, nobody has asked yet.
In past years they weren’t aloud, I’m not sure if they were allowed.