Our team is running a little short on time and we would like to purchase bumpers so that they do not count against our weight. Any help or info is appreciated.
Your bumpers don’t need to be bagged and aren’t counted toward your withholding allowance. The week one events are still a week and a half away so you should be able to make your own in time.
Bumpers do not count against your robot weight- R04 A
Bumpers don’t have to be bagged either- R15
Please please PLEASE go back and read the manual. From cover to cover. Every bit of it. Then read the Team Updates. Do it right now. And as soon as you get done reading the rules, start making your bumpers. You have plenty of time. Go for it.
Good luck!
If you are not able to make bumpers before stop build time, please please plan on how and where you will be mounting them. The whole bumpers and securely mounting them is a challenge by itself.
FYI: I have never seen COTS Bumpers. Too much needs to be customized.
This is true but if you just want corner bumpers you can get this kit from robopromo, you still have to buy and iron on bumpers and figurehttp://www.robopromo.com/product_p/rp-2018.htm out a way to mount it(there kits avalible from them or andymark). However, keep in mind that getting anything to ship by Tuesday is going to be a problem so you’re going to need a plan on mounting them or mount brackets now and mark hole locations in cardboard or something similar, not perfect but the only option I know of for buying bumpers.
You could also buy wood from a hardware store and at least mount the wood now and then do the noodles, numbers, and fabric after Tuesday.
My senior year, I made a nice set of double-sided bumpers by myself the night before competition with 6 straight hours of labor. They replaced our “measure once, cut 5 times” set from our first competition the week before, and lasted all the way to MSC.
As others have said, bumpers don’t count as robot weight, withholding allowance, nor need to be bagged.
I would like to direct you to robopromo.com, which specializes in FRC bumpers, and also offers pre-applied number services, as well as double-sided bumper kits. Not sure how familiar you are with bumper creation, but experience is a major helper with FRC bumpers. Trust me, you will never get them perfect the first time. Watch their videos, and look at the different types.
Basic rundown:
- Cut 3/4" plywood with 5-5.5" vertical height and the dimensions of your bot.
- Two Pool noodles wrapped around all the way TIGHTLY. Hold with heavy duty duct tape. Suggest two person job.
- Find your preferred template. Double sided? Vertical flap or horizontal flap? Etc.
- Choose slick (“offensive”) or rough (“defensive”) material. I highly recommend less experienced teams use slick material because it’s easier to work with.
- Find someone on the team that knows how to sew, or someone who knows someone who knows how to sew. Cut the material so you have enough hanging off (better have some to cut later than none), pin the fabric to the assembled bumper all around, fold all flaps accordingly, leave only pins in folds, take the fabric off. Stitch the flaps. If you are following a double-sided template, be sure to stitch both sets together correctly.
- Understand how you will be mounting your bumper. Interior t-nuts? Brackets? Leave interior indentations on the wood to allow for frame protrusions (bolt heads).
- Properly staple (when I say staple, I mean heavy duty carpenter staples) material to wood, make sure it’s TIGHT, and use even spacing on staples. Attach bumper mounting method.
- If you are using adhesive numbers, iron them now. If you are using non-adhesive (stitch), you may do it earlier, but gauge where you will be placing them.
If you still need any help, please let me know and I’ll be happy to help. I’m essentially our team’s bumper expert and tend to give the short end of the story when explaining it all. Cheers!