Where the heck are the rules on spare parts? I looked, but can’t find them.
Check in the manual under section 5 - Robot. Look particularly at section 5.2.5 R09. FIRST issued a further clarification on the Q & A section of their website.
ID: 883 Section: 5.2.5 Status: Answered Date Answered: 2/26/2004
Q: Must all fabrication cease after the ship date (2/26/04)? I assume this is the intent, but this is not explicitly stated as it has been in previous years.
A: The intent is that you stop all work (“tools down”) as of the ship date until you get to the event. Rule R9 addresses what you may do at the event.
There is not much wiggle room here. When the robots ship, put your tools down. If you didn’t make spare parts before you shipped, you CAN’T make them after.