The V5 Pneumatics Kit introduced some new and intriguing pneumatics parts that could be potentially game changing, most notably the variation of stroke lengths with its new pneumatic cylinders. The problem with buying parts exclusively through kits is one may need to buy several kits to get the necessary number of parts for a single robot which can be very costly in this case. That being said, I had a few immediate questions about the legality of different sourcing methods among others I’d also like to ask.
1. Old pneumatics systems
Vex has banned the use of cortex systems shortly after it made the transition to V5 components during turning point. That being said, does Vex have plans on standardizing these parts across all vrc competitions and are they planning on deprecating old pneumatics systems as well? if so, what would a rough timeline of this process look like?
2. Masking vex branding
The new pistons and reservoirs come with vex branding throughout its exterior which includes a reminder of the pressure cap. Is this a method of verifying the legality of the pistons and is it legal to mask, cover, or remove these labels for aesthetic purposes?
3. Outside sourcing
Like I said earlier, it’s an extremely costly and cumbersome process to order several kits just to attain an appropriate number of pistons or reservoirs. Moreover, vex also permits the use of parts sold by third party suppliers (e.g. McMaster Carr, Robosource, Robot Mesh etc . . . ) so long as they are similar, if not, identical to the parts vex sells. Does this also apply to parts sold by the V5 Pneumatics Kit or do the components need to be bought exclusively from Vex’s website?