Answered: <R15><R7> Laser Engraving Motor Backings

[BWorcester]

A clarification on an earlier ruling found here:

Would laser engraving motor backings/casings be legal?

According to the game manual:

<R15> Parts may NOT be modified as follows:
a. Motors (including the internal PTC), extension cords, sensors, controllers, battery packs, reservoirs, solenoids, pistons and any other electrical component or pneumatics component of the VEX Robotics Design System may NOT be altered from their original state in ANY way.

<R7> Robots are allowed the following additional “non-VEX” components:
d. Teams may add non-functional decorations provided that these do not affect the robot performance in any significant way or affect the outcome of the match. These decorations must be in the spirit of the competition. Inspectors will have final say in what is considered “nonfunctional”.
i. Anodizing and painting of parts would be considered a legal nonfunctional decoration

Our team would like to laser engrave the green plastic backs found on Vex 2-Wire 393 Motors. This would allow us to put the port number on the back of a motor, clearly visible. Since laser engraving works a fraction of the way into the casing, it would not rub off after multiple seasons of use.
This modification would be completely non-functional and not match affecting, only for identification purposes. Given the thread at the top of this post, it seems that this would be the same ruling since the process has the same effect. However, it isn’t explicitly stated in the manual, it seemed like a good idea to check officially beforehand.

[VEX_GDC]

Yes, this type of decoration would be allowed, provided that it is abundantly clear to inspectors that your motor is a legal VEX EDR motor and that the decoration does not modify the functionality of the motor in any way. For example, if the engraving punched through and created a team-number-shaped hole that also conveniently helped to cool the motor, this would be considered a functional modification.