I updated the Robot Inspection Cheat Sheets with the new motors and new controllers allowed in 2024. I put in an image of the RoboRioV2 with the newer equipment and fixed some minor label errors I had last year. The original idea for this was not mine and I’ve lost track of who that was. Whoever it was has my thanks.
This is probably a good place to include a link to the Inspection Checklist. I’d recommend comparing this to your robot prior to your event. Be aware that it sometimes gets updated between competitions, so try to get the latest.
There are many bumper inspection tools. I’m linking to the one I made in 2019 because it still works for this year. Remember this year the bumpers must cover the entire frame perimeter with no more than a half inch gap between segments.
Please be aware of the changes to E117 that states that teams may only use the event practice areas with a robot that has passed inspection. Additionally, teams can only use the filler line with a robot that has passed inspection (scheduled practice matches are allowed to connect to the field, but may not be allowed to move without passing inspection). All of this is to say, please come to inspection early. Give the Inspectors the opportunity to make sure that there are no big issues (i.e. frame perimeter, weight, safety) that could take a while to fix. After you pass inspection you can make any changes you want / need and get reinspected.
For anyone like me who wants a more detailed bumper inspection tool, here is my variant. I have previously used the op’s with no problems. I just encounter many teams who are unable to build bumpers up to spec, and often have to measure additional parts that are not on their tool.
I have designed this to be laser cut but if it fits on your 3d printer it should work as well.
I’ll be inspecting for the first time this year. My greatest fear is bumpers. Almost everything else is fixable at competition, but I dread finding a team with illegal bumpers and no materials to fix them.
In the past I’ve been at events with a bumper building area. Hope more events do this.
I’m honestly more worried. I’ve only been inspecting for a couple years but have already encountered at least 1 team that was known for reusing their corner bumpers year-over-year… I hope they read the new rules
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really like the bumper inspection tools. Having them encourages a more strict interpretation of the rules. From yours, for example, the 2.5" diameter marking can legally be 2.125" - 2.75", or any that are sold as 2.5", even if they fall outside of that range. A bumper tool like this doesn’t allow for that variance. Likewise with the wood backing, it can legally be anywhere from 4.5"-5.5", and 3/4" nominal is rarely actually 3/4" measured, again something this doesn’t really indicate or allow for.
I much prefer to use a tape measure where and when needed. It lets the inspector much more easily confirm things fall into allowable ranges, and it gives us the ability to be a little more lenient where possible. For example, we’re going to have plenty of teams trying to get their bumpers right up to the max height so the game piece can fit under them this year. As an inspector, would you rather use a tool like that and have to fail a team for being 1/16" over in one corner because the bottom doesn’t touch the ground, or would you rather use a tape measure from a few inches away from the wood backing and say “boy, that looks really close, but I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt”? Would you rather measure the stroke width to find it’s just a little shy of 1/2" and make the team fix it so their bumpers look worse and are harder to read, or would you rather look at them and say “that looks like half an inch to me” because you know any difference is small enough not to matter and the numbers look great and are readable?
I was looking over the electronics layout and noticed on the Rev PDH page, you have the CTREPDP wago connections legend. This legend isn’t correct for the PDH as per the table in R622, you can use 22awg between the Rev PDH and the RPM.
This is fairly minor but if some teams look at this, it could cause them to scramble and rewire a component that doesn’t need to be.
Hey @Culvan_Van_Li , note that R410 is significantly simplified recently and there is no 6" length of support requirement at the ends of the robot anymore. Probably want to take that off your tool… maybe add a go/nogo for wood height in its place?
The noodle tolerance requirement is down to 2.125 on the low end this season, while both of the posted tools are still nominal 2.5" radius.
DrWhotopia, Are you using the 5" section of your tool as a “pass” gauge for the wood height? The tolerance of 4.5-5.5 feels like a go(5.5)/no-go(4.5) approach might work better. Not clear what your 4" and 6" sections are for, since R410 is simplified.
@Culvan_Van_Li it looks like robots are still allowed to fully participate in practice matches as long as they meet minimum safety standards. Here’s a screenshot of the manual from today:
You are absolutely correct about robots not being allowed to use the practice field without a full inspection though. I wasn’t aware of the update to that one, so thank you!
It’s hard to see under the stars, but it looks like you have the roboRIO on a blue 15A fuse, but R615B requires a (red) 10A fuse.
It looks like you have the PH on a red 10A fuse, but R620B allows a (yellow) 20A fuse for this purpose, and PCM/PHs are notorious for blowing their fuses. I believe it is also permitted to connect the PCM/PH to a high current circuit (again maximum 20A) to take advantage of the self-resetting breaker.
It looks like you have the RPM on a blue 15A fuse, but R617B requires a (red) 10A fuse.
Also, as an RI, I find it super useful to have the PDH fuse/breaker color key to hand, so you might want to include that.
I completely understand this, I am using this tool to shortcut the time taken to inspect, I don’t use it as a say all end all. I use the tool to give general measurements, but when it comes down to it I will use a tape measure if something comes into question. The circumference measurement on the tool was only copies over from the original one made posted here, I use a flexible tape measure on this part personally. Any part that does not “perfectly” meet the tools measurements will be checked manually with tape measure as well, as there are allowed tolerance. My role as an inspector is to pass a robot not fail it.
Yes the 2.5" on my tool is not accounting for the tolerance, but if it came into question it should be measured using a tape measure. This tool is to make it more convenient to get the “normal” measurement. The 4" section is for the number sizes as where I am many teams still make them WAY too small, the 6" segment is not used this year but is for how far a bumper has to come out from a corner. In general this tool is meant as a “pass” for all measurements, if something “fails” it is then measured using a real tape measure and passed or failed accordingly.
Good feedback all around. it looks like I’ll have to make updates, but some of the diagrams had corrupted files so I’ve been using older images and simply going over it with photo editing software. I really need to rebuild them a little more thoroughly so I can more easily make changes.
This is an especially confusing section of the rules. I have to admit, I’m not 100% certain my interpretation is correct. In this case I’d rather error for the higher gauge wire. My interpretation is that if you are using the “dedicated terminals” on either power solution that it must use 18AWG. This is the best practice because the majority of brownouts are related to low voltage on those dedicated lines. Using the highest gauge wire that will work in the connectors helps to mitigate that. If you are using a connection besides the dedicated ports, then you can use 22AWG wire because it isn’t going to be powering a critical system. I’ll see if I can get Big Al’s attention to weigh in on this.
Making a bumper tool that manages minimum and maximum sizes for the various tolerances is a challenge. I’ll have to give this some thought, but I’m certain that I won’t have time to update it before my first event. Maybe someone else will post their solution.
You are correct that teams can fully participate if they are safe. Re-reading my wording, I can see how there are two definitions for the word “may” and a reasonable person could interpret that to mean certainly where I meant it was a possibility. My apology for the confusion. Allow me to restate my main point, please come to inspection early.
Good catch. I wasn’t paying attention to the fuses there. I’ll see if I can find a way to add the details for the mini fuses and make them line up with the colors they should be. Thanks!
I did get clarity on the PDP / PDH wire gauges. On the PDP, the VRM/RPM is on the same fuse that protects the PCM. Because that is a 20A fuse, the wires must be a larger gauge (18AWG).
On the PDH the PCM/PH is on a separate fuse from the RPM/VRM and the RPM/VRM is a smaller fuse (10A) so the wires can be a smaller gauge (22AWG).
I also updated the automotive style fuse locations to show the appropriate colors on both diagrams.
