Aphire
August 23, 2011, 6:28am
1
what type of material other than vex parts can you use? would plastic be alright?
Rules <R5> and <R7> fully detail which parts from outside the VEX Robotics Design System may be used in robot construction for VEX Gateway. These rules can be found in Section 4 of the VEX Gateway Game Manual , quoted below for your convenience.
<R5> Robots may be built ONLY from Official Robot Components from the VEX Robotics Design System unless otherwise specifically noted within these rules.
a. During inspections if there is a question about whether something is an official VEX component, a team will be required to provide documentation to an inspector, which proves the component’s source. Such types of documentation include receipts, part numbers, or other printed documentation.
b. Only the VEX Robotics Design System Components specifically designed to be used for Robot construction are allowed. Using additional components outside their typical purpose is against the intent of the rule (i.e. please don’t try using VEX apparel, competition support, packaging or other non-robot products on a VEX Robotics Competition Robot).
c. Products from the VEXpro product line cannot be used for robot construction. Products from the VEXpro line which are also cross listed as part of the VEX EDR product are legal.
d. Official Robotics Components from the VEX Robotics Design System which have been discontinued are still legal for competition use. However teams must be cognizant of <R5a>
<R7> Robots are allowed the following additional “non-VEX” components:
a. Any material strictly used as a color filter or a color marker for a VEX Light Sensor.
b. Any parts which are identical to legal VEX parts. For the purposes of this rule, products which are identical in all ways except for color are permissible. Note: It is up to inspectors to determine whether a component is “identical” to an official VEX component.
c. Any 6-32, 8-32, M3 or M4 screw up to 2" long, and any commercially available nut to fit these screws.
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. Any decoration which interacts with a game piece (even a painted surface) would be considered functional, hence illegal
e. Any non-aerosol based grease, when used in extreme moderation on surfaces and locations that do NOT come into contact with the playing field walls, foam field surface, game objects, or other robots.
f. Polycarbonate as cut from a single 12" x 24" sheet up to 0.0625" thick. (Please note that polycarbonate is different from acrylic sheet, which is not legal. Polycarbonate is sold under trade names such as Lexan® and Makrolon®.)
i. Polycarbonate can be mechanically altered by cutting, drilling or bending etc., but it cannot be chemically treated, melted or molded. Teams may heat the polycarbonate to aid in bending.
g. A small amount of tape may be used for the following purposes:
i. For the sole purpose of securing any connection between the ends of two (2) PWM cables.
ii. For labeling wires and motors.
iii. Teflon tape solely for the purposes of preventing leaks may be used on the threaded portions of pneumatic fittings.
iv. For securing and retaining a VEXnet key to the Cortex Microcontroller. Using tape in this manner is highly recommended to ensure a robust connection.
h. A USB extension cable may be used for the sole purpose of remote mounting of a VEXnet key. The key must be mounted in the following manner. (See the below image for reference)
i. The VEXnet key must be mounted such that no metal is touching the key above the VEXnet logo.
ii. No metal may be within 2” of the top of the VEXnet key.
To answer your specific question, yes you may use plastic, subject to the restrictions set forth in <R7f>.
Sylvie
March 5, 2019, 3:34am
4
Why did this refloat? It seems like the last post was in 2011
1 Like