Where does one find them in Michigan in the winter?
In your shop, because you bought them in the fall. :rolleyes: 
Sorry, that’s next year. For those that didn’t know to plan ahead, your friends down in Kokomo, Indiana have your back. http://www.andymark.com/Bumpers-s/253.htm Scroll down a bit. (And, while you’re at it, browse around the rest of the site. Just don’t blow your entire robot budget there.)
Now, I do have to give you guys fair warning. We don’t know for sure that we actually will need pool noodles this year, given that we didn’t get any blog posts about making sure you have your supply. But, with the bumper rules as they have been for the last few years, I think your concern is reasonable. And, as noted, one source is in Indiana.
Here is a 20 pack on Amazon.
You may also try other places, but this about the going price for bulk/quantity purchases. You may be able to find a pool/spa store that has some leftover in the back room.
[Edit] Ether beat me to it… and EricH, thanks for providing a link to AndyMark. I would have guessed/known that they sold the noodles.
In all seriousness, set an alarm or calendar reminder for the middle of August to get them in the summer months or as the stores are prepping to switch seasons. [/Edit]
If you are going to Grand Rapids for kick off I can bring you some. There may be another team more local to you who buys them when they see them like I do in September. If they are a dollar or less I grab a few, we probably have thirty in our storage room.
You will find them in local pool supply stores.
Along these lines, does anyone have a good source for buying SOLID pool noodles online? The stiffer, the better. I’ve got way more than enough hollow squishy ones.
Search for solid pool noodles on Amazon…they have them…
If you get the the store at just the right time, when they’re clearing out the pool supplies for fall, you can talk to the manager and offer $1 a noodle for the case(s) and no foolin’, that works.
Did get all pink noodles, but that’s no big deal. Can’t see 'em on the 'bot anyway.
As for ‘solid’ noodles, can you foam ‘great-stuff’ into the center? I think maybe you want your bottom noodle to be solid and the upper noodle hollow, so you’ll get a wedge-effect that gets the other robots’ weight onto your machine so you get the traction. Would that work?
Pool noodle = Polyethylene Foam
Here is a site that sells cylinders of polyethylene foam: Polyethylene Cylinders | Foam Factory, Inc.
(Disclaimer: I have not ordered from this site).
At $8 for one 70 inch length they are significantly more expensive than pool noodles.
I used to do packaging engineering for Northrop. There will be a foam supplier somewhere nearby who does custom shipping containers and custom foam. Find one locally and call them and see if they can get you polyethylene cylinders in larger quantity for a discount. If you mention what it’s for I bet they will give you a discount or wholesale price.
-matto-
A student used pool noodles for a boat project in June. I “salvaged” them and put them in our robotics room once the project was done.
Rip them from your old robot? On a serious note, it’ll be difficult to find them at a local store by now. Should’ve prepared ahead of time. I’d try Amazon. Maybe ebay.
We bought ours during build season last year. We just called around to a few pool supply stores and bought a large quantity (30 maybe) for rather cheap (don’t remember specific price, but it was a lot cheaper than amazon). They usually have them all year round.
The rules in previous years around bumpers are pretty prescriptive:
use a stacked pair of approximately 2 ½ in. round, petal, or hex “pool noodles” (solid or hollow) as the BUMPER cushion material
Think carefully about using substitutes, particularly ones that don’t look like pool noodles or have substantially different physical properties. You may end up needing to “sell” them to the inspectors at the competition.
I hate working on bumpers at competitions.
Isn’t this against the rules?
Not any more. Bumpers aren’t considered part of the robot (in 2014) and the (2014) rules against reusing fabricated parts don’t apply to them.
Inspectors do not disassemble the bumpers for inspection. So, if it looks like a pool noodle under the cover, and feels like a pool noodle …
You can cannibalize parts. Reusing the pool noodle is ok.
If we are able to buy from local pool supply store in Michigan during peak winter, they will be available in other states too! BTW swimming is not just summer activity! Grocery and big chain stores keep seasonal products, but pool supply stores keep them all year round.
Our team’s policy at the competition is to disclose anything that is remotely questionable to the inspectors at the time of inspection, allowing us time to fix it if they are going to object.
Last year, we had this on our robot, and specifically pointed it out to the inspectors with a discussion of how the rules applied. It created a bit of consternation, but ultimately was allowed based on how we were using it.
The worst time to find that a part is disallowed is when your bumper comes apart during the competition, revealing 20lb of air entrained concrete :rolleyes:. No time to remediate.