FRCTools

R302      *Custom parts, generally from this year only. FABRICATED ITEMS created before Kickoff are not permitted. Exceptions are:

A.     OPERATOR CONSOLE,

B.     BUMPERS,

C.     battery assemblies as described in R103-B, 

D.     FABRICATED ITEMS consisting of 1 COTS electrical device (e.g. a motor or motor controller) and attached COMPONENTS associated with any of the following modifications:

a.     wires modified to facilitate connection to a ROBOT (including removal of existing connectors),

b.     connectors and any materials to secure and insulate those connectors added (note: passive PCBs such as those used to adapt motor terminals to connectors are considered connectors),

c.      motor shafts modified and/or gears, pulleys, or sprockets added, and

d.     motors modified with a filtering capacitor as described in the blue box below R625.

E.     COTS items, or functional equivalents, with any of the following modifications:

a.     non-functional decoration or labeling,

b.     assembly of COTS items per manufacturer specs, unless the result constitutes a MAJOR MECHANISM as defined in I101, and

c.      work that could be reasonably accomplished in fewer than 30 minutes with the use of handheld tools (e.g. drilling a small number of holes in a COTS part).

Please note that this means FABRICATED ITEMS from ROBOTS entered in previous FIRST competitions may not be used on ROBOTS in the CRESCENDO FIRST Robotics Competition (other than those allowed per R302-B through -E). Before the formal start of the build season, teams are encouraged to think as much as they please about their ROBOTS. They may develop prototypes, create proof-of-concept models, and conduct design exercises. Teams may gather all the raw stock materials and COTS COMPONENTS they want.

Functionally equivalent items are items that closely resemble a COTS item in both form and function. Functional equivalents should be made using similar materials to the COTS equivalents.

Parts with precision machined (mill, CNC, etc.) features may still meet part E.c. of this rule if functionally equivalent features could reasonably be made within the restrictions specified.

Example 1: A team designs and builds a 2-speed shifting transmission during the fall as a training exercise. After Kickoff, they utilize all the design principles they learned in the fall to design their ROBOT. To optimize the transmission design for their ROBOT, they change the transmission gear ratios and reduce the size, and build 2 new transmissions, and place them on the ROBOT. All parts of this process are permitted activities.

Example 2: A team re-uses a CRESCENDO-legal motor from a previous ROBOT which has had connectors added to the wires. This is permitted, per exception D, because the motor is a COTS electrical COMPONENT.

Example 3: A team re-uses a piece of aluminum tubing from a previous ROBOT which has a precision machined bearing hole in it. On the current ROBOT, the bearing hole is not used. As the only function of the hole on the current ROBOT is material removal, which does not require precise tolerancing, a functionally equivalent hole could be made with a hand drill in under 30 minutes and the part is permitted per part E.c.