Disabled pressure safety requirements

Technical Pneumatics
1

Hi everyone,
For our robot we are using a pneumatic system in order to run our arm that holds the totes. We saw that there is a safety requirement that the robot should have no pressure in the compressor when it is disabled.

However, our robot doesn’t have a digitally accessible valve, only a manual valve for letting the air out of the system. Would this meet the requirement in order to have all the pressure as 0 if we manually release the valve as we take the robot off the field?

Additionally, if it is needed to have a digital pressure release during disabled, how would you recommend we do this? We don’t currently have the hardware for a digital valve, and are unsure if a second solenoid is the best way to go. Currently the only way we can release the pressure is by actuating the arm repeatedly which would probably a worse safety hazard since that would open and close our arm mechanism.

Thanks for your help,
Team 8.

2

Please tell me what you saw. I am not aware of the rule as you have described it.

The compressor cannot run when disabled. But, you don’t have to bleed the air. Pressure can be stored while off.

There does need to be a manual valve as you have described. The valve does have to vent ALL pressure in the system.

3

Here is the rule that applies. You are clearly allowed to pre-charge your air system.

R24 Non-electrical sources of energy used by the ROBOT, (i.e., stored at the start of a MATCH), shall come only from the following
sources:
A. compressed air stored in the pneumatic system that has been charged in compliance with R68 and R69,
B. a change in the altitude of the ROBOT center of gravity,
C. storage achieved by deformation of ROBOT parts,
D. closed-loop COTS pneumatic (gas) shocks, and
E. air-filled (pneumatic) wheels.