Hey guys,
Would any retiring teams have a field perimeter they would be willing to sell me? If so, please PM me.
Thanks
I don’t have a perimeter but it is very easy to make one out of some cheap plywood. My school built one with $30
Hmm… Why is the perimeter $1000? Even with the EP discount, it’s pretty expensive. Go with the plywood. It’s probably easier to move and store as well.
Because they are made of rolled steel. They are pretty much a once in a lifetime purchase, I have two from 2006 and a third from 2009 and they are a little scratched, but still work great. I’d have to math some, but I’ll guess the two older ones have seen over 100 events.
Ya they just designed the field perimeter to be a tad bit overbuilt and we are all better for it. It is just a cost you have to budget once. I don’t think vex makes any money on the hundred they sell in a year.
I think they still make money on them. Need to remember, there is a huge factory next to them that make computer room racks.
I agree with you, but I think they sell WAY more than 100 per year. I would imagine that they are not particularly profitable, especially compared to all the kits they sell to schools.
I wonder why vex doesn’t make them out of plywood. I’d imagine they could scratch a little easier, but putting some thick plastic on either side could really help with that. The walls don’t need to be transparent and they don’t take enough of a beating to warrant the high grade steel they use.
If Matthew was able to make one for $30, vex could just switch to a plywood and sell them for $90. This would greatly lower the price, increase the mark percentage greatly, and lower the risk if they don’t sell every single perimeter because they’re storing less money in raw materials.
Plywood doesn’t exactly look very professional tho
You’re absolutely right. It just seems like a silly reason to charge $1000 for a perimeter instead of $100, but if vex cares about looking professional, it’s a fair call.
If they want something in the middle, they could use high grade hard wood that would look quite nice but would still be well under $1000 per perimeter.
Personally I think a fully plastic perimeter would look amazing (at least until someone scratches it) 10mm polycarbonate would probably do the job well and would probably be cheaper than the steel-polycarb combo we have at the moment.
Perimeters were designed for organizations hosting events - having transparent walls allows better viewing angles in different venues that might not have a live broadcast of the field. Events are held in classrooms, auditoriums, gymnasiums, cafeterias…
VEX makes the low cost plywood & PVC plans freely available to teams who want that low cost solution without markups due to shipping, manufacturing etc.
That’s actually an interesting point.
What about replacing the high grade steel with hard wood but keeping those clear central panels? Hard wood gets expensive, but just a frame would be less total material, and it would certainly be cheaper than steel.
Why the sudden interest in making a cheaper field? The current ones are like tanks. They last, put up with abuse. With an EP discount they are very inexpensive.
I’ve been building cabinetry and furniture as a hobby for a couple of decades. If you figure in the cost of materials and labor, the field perimeter you buy from VEX is a screaming deal compared to building a hardwood frame-and-panel equivalent, and you know that the game will attach to the factory field every year. I have no such confidence in a home built perimeter. I’m a huge fan of building a cheap OSB field for practice, but they are not suitable for a competition.
I would guess it’s a couple hundred a year. Maybe 200-300, still loosely in the 100 ballpark. Did you have a totally different estimate? I would be idly curious how many field perimeters robot mesh sells a year, if you were willing to disclose it.