My team mates and I were wondering if we were allowed to put holes in the intake roller paddles, to be able to put the vex legal zip ties through them. We’ve consulted the guide, but still aren’t sure.
Does anyone know??
Thanks.
Team 197, Metal Heads
Thanks for looking in the manual first. Rule <R9> is the one that you are looking for. It gives the rules for how parts may NOT be modified and since you aren’t violating that rule by cutting holes in the rollers what you have described is legal.
However as always this is not an official answer. For that you would need to ask in the official VEX elevation Q&A forum.
I DID look in the manual first, we weren’t sure If it was legal still, since sometimes the rules can be vague.
No need to be rude.
Thanks for the response.
When we write the rules we try to describe the things you “can’t” do. As corporalchee pointed out, since there is no rule which prohibits modification of mechanical components, it must be legal.
If you have suggestions for ways to improve this for next year, I’d be happy to hear them. We are always looking for ways to improve the competition manual.
When building our robots, we normally assume if there isn’t a rule against it, then it must be legal.
Robotics competition manuals remind me too much of programing language syntax charts with no examples. A few Examples on both allowed and disallowed sides of the rules could be worth 100 Q&As.
The downside is that they add to length (and some people don’t read the whole thing as it is), and they can pollute the idea stream. Possibly you could look at the past few years Q&A (are past years Q&A still accessible?) for common themes and use them as examples.
As some examples of examples, in format of Q&A
Disclaimer: These are not official answers or official Q&A.
Q1: My robot weighs 400 lbs and the standard wheels and axles are not strong enough. May I redrill the bearings and wheels to use a quad of 4 axles together? May I epoxy the 4 axles together?
A1: Yes, you may drill, cut, etc any mechanical parts. No epoxy, solder, brazing, or welding is permitted.
Q2: My robot weighs only 12 oz and the standard wheels are waaaay overbuilt for my little bot. May I make size X wheels from the aluminum metal kit with rubber band treads, or make bicycle type tension wheels from other Vex parts? May I shave down std wheels to be 1/4inch wide?
A2: Yes, you may make your own wheels from other Vex parts.
Yes, you make cut, drill, make other mechanical mods to wheels or any other mechanical (not electrical) part, per rule Y.x, as long as you meet all other rules such as X.y regarding sharp edges that may damage field.
The above examples show ridiculous ends of the spectrum (400lbs vs 12 oz) to avoid suggesting that heavy or light robots are better.
Unfortunately, my examples tend to be long and wordy.