This may be the dumbest question ever asked…
Don’t think differently of me for this…
But…
Is glue allowed to be used on the robot??
Any kind…even going as far as hot glue
Not saying that our robot is made completely of glue, or that we coated it in glue; but for smaller parts or as a security measure.
I looked and I don’t see anything against it in the manual, but I may not have seen it.
If there’s nothing against it in the rules, then it’s ok to use glue on your robot.
Although you might want to be careful about using glue in the pits…some glues are hazardous, and might not be appropriate (ie. there is no way to get adequate ventilation for volatile glues)
I remember Brain Lucas telling me a tale about a team who’s robot broke down because their hot glue wore off their control board and it fell off of their robot or something like that.
So I guess if you’re going to use glue you better make sure it’s not for a major component on the robot.
All forms of glue that don’t pose a field contamination or other safety risk should be fine. If there are such risks while you apply it, that’s fine, so long as the it’s gone before it’s on the field and you don’t do anything dangerous in the pits.
(Hot glue, epoxy, wood glues, rubber cements are all good.)
Glues are legal. 675 uses glue (and poprivets) to hold the tread on our wheels, and we’re using glue to hold in some of the fans on the Vic’s. We’ve also passed inspection with the glue on there at the SVR.
As long as you aren’t taking advantage of adhesive properties of semi-dried glues for playing (for example, extra grip) then it’s okay.
HINT: I have recently discovered that Crazy Glue (or any other cyanoacrylate) will harden instantly in the presence of water. This is one of the greatest tips I have ever known, as it allows me to make all kinds of emergency repairs. Best so far: quick threadlocker.
That was the worst inspection ever. That team hot glued all their components onto their electronics board. During the competition one of their Victor speed controllers died so they replaced it with one that was just dangling by its wires near the other dead Victor which they couldn’t get off the board.
During elimination reinspection, I told them that had to mount the speed controller because it was a safety hazard. They tried to remove a wire from their circuit breaker panel and ripped it in half (mangling the metal in the process). The circuit panels rely on the mount screws for structural stability. They were an alternate so they just crated their robot at that point.
I don’t recommend hot glue on the electronics. Some teams like to hot glue connections in place but I think wire ties work fine. Your electrical panel should always be easy to reconnect if a component fails. More importantly always mount your circuit panels correctly, the screws (or wire ties) are what hold it together.
Water kicks over cyanoacrylate very quickly but weakens the bond strength. This is because all cyanoacrylates are hydroscopic (break down in the presence of water during the cure process). As long as you are OK with the derated bond strength, then go ahead and use water as a accellerator.
We once used an expanding polyurethane construction adhesive to make a flat mounting base for the old drill motors in the portable drill shell. Great stuff. PL brand Polyurethane Premium Construction adhesive in the yellow, red and black tube. They have several kinds, but this one is rated for all kinds of materials. I get it at Lowe’s, I think. We didn’t glue down the motor, just used the stuff as a bedding compound.