Items used solely for the purpose of bundling or wrapping 2-wire or 3-wire cables for the purposes of protection, organization, or management
are allowed. This includes but is not
limited to electrical tape, cable carrier, cable track, etc. Note: it is up to inspectors to determine
whether a component is serving a function beyond protecting and managing cables.
My question is, if a robot has two sections connected only by a tether of cables and non-vex items used solely to protect and manage this tether of cables, is that legal?
Also, can non vex components be used for the purposes of protection, organization, or management of 4-wire cables be used?
Yes, this is generally legal, however you’ll need to be careful to ensure that these items are in fact being used solely for the protection and management of cables. For example, in most cases, a tether of cables with no form of metal backing would be considered an entanglement risk. If by using non-VEX parts for cable management you’ve also increased the rigidity of the tether such that it’s no longer an entanglement risk, these parts are no longer being used solely for cable management, thus they would no longer be legal. Any sort of determination of this sort will be made by the inspectors at your event.
Simply put, once your non-VEX cable management parts become structural, they are no longer legal.