from the rules i gleaned that if a team wants to use software from prior to the build season, they must make it accessible to all teams. if a team wants to pre fabricated hard-wear can we do the same thing? if we Post CAD files and a while paper to CD can we use a design that is identical or almost entirely gleaned off a prior robot?
the reason that i ask is that between 2006,2007,2008 and this year we have been refining a lift design, the new version is nearly identical to its prior versions.
There’s a Q&A clarification on re-manufacturing hardware from prior designs.
In the Game manual glossary, you’ll find COTS hardware must be readily available to teams from a vendor. Detailed designs in professional publications can be used as “raw material” in the build season, with parts fabricated only after kickoff. The legality of using prior-year designs depends where the detailed designs are posted. There’s a big difference from having drawings on a team’s website vs a FIRST-wide shared library (i.e. SolidWorks, Inventor, etc.).
Please carefully read the blue box under <R22> regarding pre-fabricated and build-to-print parts. Detailed designs need to be produced during the build season.
FIRST allows software to become “COTS” if it is made available via sites widely-accessible to FRC teams. This differs from the rules for hardware.
Emphasis mine.
If it’s “nearly” identical then that means that you’ve taken a previous design and modified it to fit this years needs. According to my understanding of the rule this is perfectly legal.
Then again, I’m not Q&A, so you may want to ask there.