Minibot Parts

What are the rules on deforming stock parts for the minibot.

Example #1, taking a piece of solid aluminum or aluminum channel, and machining it into a desired shape.

Example #2, Taking a sheet of polycarbonate, and vacu-forming it into a specific shape

I don’t recall any rules about deformation of minibot pieces, so I’d like a second view/opinion on this.

Any answers here are not official and should be directed towards the official Q&A FIRST Game Forum after reading the manual exhaustively.

In FTC you were allowed to modify the Tetrix aluminum parts (i.e. cut pieces down to size, cut off a whole side) so I assume that you should be able to modify parts as described. There doesn’t seem to be a rule that explicitly states against this.

Build away… I was actually suprised (and disappointed) when the update came out saying that you HAD to use the motors and battery. I thought we were going to see some really radical mini-bot ideas… now we’ll have to settle for the merely brilliant ones.

Jason

Do we have clarification on what polycarbonate pre-forming shape can be?
Unlike the aluminum which specifices

H. Aluminum sheet, 90° angle, u-channel, tube, bar,

nothing is specified for polycarbonate. So I assume we can use tubing or other preformed shapes.

Also, what constitutes a rubber band. Are ‘O’ rings , flat belts allowed?

What materials can cord be made out of?

Please remember that the FTC rulebook is not part of the FRC rules. Only FRC rules apply. Rubber bands are simply that, they come in a box that says ‘rubber bands’ on the outside. Same with cord, J. non-metallic rope or cord, means no metal.

i have a question. does anyone know where to find the dimensions for the FRC minibot kit? we purchased the kit, its on the way, but we want to start drawing our robot and need part dimensions. any help is appreciated.

The first place to look is www.3DContentCentral.com
Key word FTC. You can download in any CAD file format, Inventor, ProE, Autocad.

For the complete assembly of TETRIX Mantis in SolidWorks format, you can download at

Hi, I noticed that 3dcontentcentral does not have the HiTec motor and servo contollers or battery pack modeled. Do you know if they exist anywhere?