I am wondering why 3D printed parts are no longer allowed, because personally I think it made the game much better because it allowed for a lot more innivation in the meta for each season, And I also feel like it is something that a lot of schools that have a vex program have acess to. I know that we are allowed to use 3D printed things as decor or license plates on the bot but why not functional peices.
This has already been extensively discussed this season, the search bar is yearning for a click, you can refer to the Game Manual which specifies the rules and just to clarify as you seem to have made a mistake:
<R19 Prohibited Items. The following types of mechanisms and components are NOT allowed… k. 3D printed Robot parts for any purpose, including non-functional decorations and license plates.
and
3D printed parts are not permitted in the VEX V5 Robotics Competition for any purpose, including non-functional decorations.
your frustration has been voiced by many already but this makes volunteers life’s easier and greatly simplifies inspection AND does something to increase parity between advantaged and less so advantaged teams
Very quick note before we get into the discussion –
The ruling states that 3d printing is NOT allowed anywhere, for any reason on a robot. This is the part which changed from years previous.
Hope this helps!
The 3D printing limitation is to force innovation.
The great thing about Vex is that you have constraints you must work with, set parts. If you could make any shape you required, it would take a lot of the difficulty out of Vex.
Making the shapes you need out of Vex parts forces builders to come up with creative solutions and learn to work within design constraints.
Vex is a method of learning wrapped in a competition to get people invested. The constraints force us to learn how to create what we want without relying on the machine that can magic up any complicated shape we desire for minimal work.
Also, functional 3D printed parts were not legal last season. They simply banned 3D-printed licence plates this season, as some people had complaints about them.
" Teams may choose to use the official V5RC License Plate Kit, or may create their own using only legal materials." Direct from (R6)
If you want 3D printing, you could always join VexU, FRC, or FTC.
Hope this helps. 
The 3D printing discussion has continued every year. Hopefully the GDC adds volume-limited 3D printing to the rules in 2026-2027 season. The area-limited plastic rules are reasonable and used by almost every competitive team.
there are more attributes to consider - say type of material used, thickness, functional limits etc.
I did see on a feed another program using TPU for their intake rollers.
From my perspective, the real issue lies how to articulate a set of constraints that are fair and safe.
It’s a hard issue to be sure.
I think it’s generally a good change for two main reasons:
- It makes the competition “fairer”. Many teams do not have access to a 3D printer, and so are at a disadvantage simply because of their funding/financial situation (I don’t really know how else to say this). Many teams operate out of garages or schools that can barely afford the base V5 parts.
- It makes the life of VEX robot inspectors way easier. It can be difficult for inspectors and referees to verify if a 3D printed part is allowed, safe, or viable. This is especially important because these people may be volunteers who may not have much experience with VEX (I don’t know how true this point is) or the specific rules and rule cases.
- At least in my opinion, one of the best parts about VEX is seeing what different students can build and make using the same set of constraints, and the same “toolbox”. When you introduce custom 3D printed parts, the game becomes more about, “how can I manufacture better parts” than “how can I use the parts given to me”. In engineering, (I don’t know how true this is either) you will always have some sort of constraint or limiting factor. I feel this rule change makes this constraint more visible or pronounced.
This is all just my opinion, so feel free to debate me.
sorry for the rant
See the 2023 discussion Why is 3D printing still not legal in VRC? it references the 2022 discussion.
It references that coach mentors Do Not Want 3D Printing. So go get a ground swell of them. Go to every event with your I want 3D printing and get ALL the coaches to sign. Fair warning, that one coach that WON’T sign will kill it off. Without all the coaches at all the events signing off, you won’t see it
Its time for physical action, signatures on paper by coaches. Posts here won’t work. Good luck
I completely disagree with this statement. I feel like allowing 3-d printed parts would actually make it easier for low-funds schools to do robotics. Printers are reletively cheap, and there are so many spelcity pieces that you could easily 3-d print. It defintely needs to be regulated though, and that doesn’t sound fun.
Yeah, this could be a problem. Maybe only allow PLA and TPU, and find some way to non-destructively test them. IDK what the technology is with this.
I feel like the expensive and limited parts ecosystem with the V5 model often makes it a “who has more money to spend on parts”. I do think a full “everything 3-d printed is allowed” rule would ruin alot of creativity, but maybe have a size and weight limit. I feel like there is so much you could do with the limited V5 ecosystem with adding 3-d printed parts. It might be stepping into FTC’s territory, but it would be a much cheaper option for adults.
What??? Someone is being reasonable on the fourm???
(please don’t flag me)
I can see how it would be more fair but with the current prices of V5 parts and the prices of 3D printers it doesn’t put lower income teams at a disadvantage because buying a high-mid end 3D printer is about the same price as a V5 brain, and it would definitely allow for these types of teams to be able to save money considering that all of the vex parts 3D models are all out there already and can easily be 3D printed (I know because I spent my winter break printing sprockets to make sure our outtake worked) so teams could save money on using 3D printed sprockets and gears along with a lot of other parts that can probably easily be printed. other than that I agree with most of your points and think that judging the probably the main reason.