In Q&A 812 it was ruled that Rubber bands and pneumatic components are the sole exceptions to the limitations imposed by R6, R7, and R8 collectively. However, previously under the old "Identical in all ways except for color" wording, there were several other robot components which were very commonly bought from third parties. Here is a list of the ones I could think of:
- Zip Ties
- Anti-Slip Mat
- Adhesive Foam
- Latex Tubing
- Smart Cable Connectors
Would the GDC consider legalizing the identical equivalents of these components which are readily available from local stores by adding a clause to R8? I can see many teams who miss the omission of the old clause of R8 not realize that their zip ties or anti slip mat which they have used many times in past years are suddenly illegal simply because they were not purchased from VEX. This is especially true in the case of identical smart cable connectors, which in previous seasons have been explicitly stated on this Q&A to be legal. If they were to remain illegal, then teams who used 3rd party connectors would be forced to cur the ends off of every single cable made with the identical equivalents and re crimp them using the ones purchased from vex, which would be costly, time consuming, and very wasteful. These components being illegal also places an extra burden on inspectors to determine whether seemingly identical parts (especially in the case of zip ties and smart cable connectors) were actually purchased from VEX or not.