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Official Q&A: VRC 2022-2023: Spin Up

Usage Guidelines All Questions

1141: R11 Screws and Inspection


2114C
28-Jun-2022

Hello,

In the Recent June 28th game manual update, the GDC modified R11 to include the following line:

Robots may use the following commercially available hardware:

a. #4, #6, #8, M3, M3.5, or M4 screws up to 2.5” (63.5mm) long (nominal) made of steel or stainless steel.

Emphasis mine.

Given that many types of stainless steel are non-ferro magnetic, how should inspectors distinguish a stainless steel screw from an aluminum screw on a robot? The Robot Inspection Checklist does not provide any guidance on this issue; in fact it does not even mention that the material of the screw matters, stating only that "certain non-VEX screws, nuts and washers" are legal.

A second modification to R11 added in the June 28th update states:

Shoulder screws cannot have a shoulder length over 0.20” and a diameter over 0.176”

The Robot Inspection Checklist also does not provide any guidance on this requirement. What is the recommended method by which inspectors are to determine the diameter of the shoulder screws on a robot? Additionally, if a measuring device accurate to a thousandths of an inch is not available at an event, will there be resources available to provide event staff with suitable measuring devices?

Thank you.

Answered by committee

Given that many types of stainless steel are non-ferro magnetic, how should inspectors distinguish a stainless steel screw from an aluminum screw on a robot?

Steel fasteners are ferrous, and therefore magnetic. Teams using stainless steel fasteners may be subject to additional scrutiny during inspection.

What is the recommended method by which inspectors are to determine the diameter of the shoulder screws on a robot? Additionally, if a measuring device accurate to a thousandths of an inch is not available at an event, will there be resources available to provide event staff with suitable measuring devices?

An update released on July 19 added the following verbiage to rule R12's "red box":

All specific dimensions listed in this rule are intended to be ‘nominal’ references to hardware sizes found within the VEX V5 product line and / or their metric equivalents.

The intent of this sentence is to clarify that inspectors are not expected to measure shoulder bolts to thousandths of inches.