For our regional competition we have bag and tag. We then bring the bagged robot back to our school to ship to St. Louis.
What if it is damaged during the shipment?
What if the robot does not fit in the crate when we get back to the school? Can we rearrange things?
Should we remove the bumpers before we “bag” at the regional?
How many bags can we use?
Obviously we have a heavy robot (120 lbs) placed on top of blocks or something to hold the robot in place - what if the bag tears?
How do we expect to secure the robot in place in the crate if we can’t put a hole in bag. NOTE: We secure the robot with ratchet straps, how can we use them without putting holes in the bag.
I believe this bag-n-tag issue needs to be further discussed by FIRST to the teams.
Does anyone have some notes who used BnT last year?
As soon as your recognize this, contact the shipping desk at Championships. They’ll work with you, but of course the damage is already done so this could be very unfortunate. There are thankfully only a few such stories in all of FIRST’s history.
You can’t open the bag at times not specified in the rules. If you can rearrange without opening it, more power to you. However, I highly recommend testing this before you tag it for your initial event.
Recommended and legal, though not necessary. It makes it easier for getting through some doors, too. If your crate is designed to fit an un-bumpered robot, then yes, feel free to bag & tag and record both separately.
You’re given 2 in the KOP. If you need more (i.e. the plastic tears), you may want to find a point of contact (pick your favorite senior mentor, regional director, etc) to consult.
We didn’t have a problem with this last year, and I don’t think many people did. If it tears on the way to competition? Tell the inspector staff upon arrival. I think they’d be reasonable about it, especially if it’s obviously unintentional and not enough to provide real access.
We screw 2x4s in tightly against the frame and potentially against other robust members higher up on the robot. Other teams probably have other techniques as well. There are certainly plenty of ways to do so.
There is a B&T FAQ on the first website. In general, you can bag bumpers separately but the tag must be recorded on your forms. Please do not loose the B&T forms and make sure that somebody who is traveling with the robot has the form in their hand when the robot arrives at a regional event.
The bags are very strong and it is unlikely that your bag can be damaged with normal handling.
Nope. R26, the withholding allowance rule, only applies to fabricated items. COTS items or raw materials are not fabricated, and thus do not count as part of the 30 lbs.
All COTS Items have to be mounted in some fashion. Per R22, only if you modify it does it become a Fabricated Item.
Per R11 and P12, the electronics subsystem as a whole is a Mechanism, i.e. a custom assembly of Components. The electronics mounting board is perhaps a fabricated part, as are most of the wires, but most of the other Components are COTS.
But R19 says everything other than R26 allowed items must be bagged.
Ok, I’m a little more confused now about what is allowed outside of the bag. In addition to the 30lbs, are you saying we can bring COTS and raw materials to fabricate an entirely new Item (Component part or Mechanism)?
I think COTS items used as, or materials for fabricating, a spare part is reasonable, but for a new designed Item is not. In my opinion, anything you use for a new Item is either in the bag or counted toward the 30 lbs.