Now the flag holder that we have to put on our robot what are the rules cause the ones they gave us are in to much of a gray area.
<R17> seems quite self-explanatory, except that 1/2” (nominal) Schedule 40 PVC doesn’t have any dimension that is 1/2". Is there something in particular that is confusing you?
i believe its 12" of 1/2" Inner Diameter Sch 40 PVC w/ the top of the flag holder at 51" above the floor. how you get it up to that height is up to you. o and you cannot alter the PVC (i.e. drilling weight holes). that is really the only specs on it.
You can if it is to attach it though that is okay, but no drilling for weight.
Also when you are at inspection they will tell you if it is okay or not. Just if it is not either be prepared to change it or have extra PVC to put on.
<R17> ROBOTS must use one of the two FLAGS provided at the event
queuing location to display their ALLIANCE color (red or blue). The
FLAG shall be held in a flag holder mounted on the ROBOT. The
only acceptable flag holder is a 12 inch long piece of 1/2” (nominal)
Schedule 40 PVC tube. The tube must be a single, contiguous
piece, capped with a commercial PVC pipe cap cemented at the
bottom end.
Please note that the flag holder must be 12" long, Schedule 40 with a pipe cap whose top end is 51" above the floor +/- 1". Mounting holes are acceptable but are under the scrutiny of the Robot Inspector. Further, the flagholder must allow for a two inch radius of at least 180 degrees for the lap indicator to be visible from above. The lap indicator does move a bit during robot operation. The rule this year is specific and does not provide for deviation in design.
If I can add my $.02. 1/2" Sch 40 pvc has an ID of 3/8", NOT an ID of 1/2". (It’s a construction thing.) Make sure the printed labeling on the side of the sch 40 says 1/2 inch.
As far as mounting, 2 hose clamps work well wrapped around a piece off 1" x 1" alum angle thats bolted to a structural member.
See this on Nominal Pipe Size: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominal_Pipe_Size
Another source http://www.harvel.com/pipepvc-sch40-80-dim.asp says that the dimensions are .84" od and .6" id.
The key thing to remember is that on a 1/2" nominal schedule 40 PVC, there will be no measurement of .500 inches.
Although the rules say that you may use holes for mounting, you can’t put a connector through the interior of the tube. This is because the flag pole itself is wrapped in tape to keep it in place better.
Actually the flag shaft has a piece of rubber tubing over it extending from below the rubber stopper to the bottom of the flag. Object of this addition is to prevent vibration from loosening the flag stopper.
A good best practice is to ensure the flag will not be destroyed by your robot mechanism. Our flag holder looked great, but when we added the flag and got in the heat of battle, we munched the flag :ahh: .
Next year we will probably have a flag ‘stand-in’ when we test the robot.
we actually had an actual flag from some off season even or (i doubt it but maybe) Atlanta. However we seemed to have lost it when we actually needed it to make our flag holder.
When we designed for the flag we drew it 2D on paper as well as modeled it in Inventor so we could see if it would be affected by our arm. you really dont need a perfect model of your robot to do this. you could make simple boxes that represent your robot and move them through their motions to see if anything will hit your flag. if so then you need to find a new place for it.
bring spare pvc. thats all you need to know. 