At the end of the day, it is all about your safety guys. No-one wants to see anyone getting hurt for the sake of a preventative measure. That was the whole point of my post.
If someone had already been hurt, I mean properly hurt, would we be having this discussion? And secondary to the tragedy that would be anyone's serious injury or death is also the not unlikely prospect of nailing-shut the coffin for this spobby with the same blow.
What happened with the "roboteer nearly lost his head to a weapon as it fired accidentally in the pits"? Presumably this was someone not following the rules but has anything been done to stop someone ACTUALLY losing their head? The worrying thing for me is that it could have hit anyone, even someone not involved with that robot who was just walking past. If not extra precautions have been taken after this then I'm not sure how safe i'd feel just walking through the pits... Of course I don't know anything about this particular incident- just saying how I feel!
These rules were put in place because in 2004 someone got knocked out after being hit in the head with a HW flipper. It could easily have killed him, and at the time thought it may have.
Since then the locking bars have been used and in the rules, and have cut down safety issues massively. Just sometimes the get overlooked and that needs to be enforced better.
It's up to roboteer's as much as it is event organisers to make sure your in the rules.
Not keen on having my (Meggamouse or Mini mighty mouse) flipper locked down. If the ram fires then you have a gassed up bot a ram under full pressure and someone has to stick their hand in to dump the gas and hope the ram empties. Having the flipper arm locked clear of the ram, if the ram fires nothing happens and the machine can be moved to a safe area.
The system used by Pressure and Maelstrom where the locking device is removed from a distance is far safer in my view, although I have had no issues with my robots, I may make a similar system.
Trevor
I can see both sides of the argument for and against gassing up with locking bars. To me locking flippers in the upright position is safer, but that was ruled out after Mike's accident. But then I don't like the idea of having the flipper down with a locking bar under pressure either. Honestly I prefer John's method of gassing up slowly from the side of the robot and just let the flipper lift if the valve is open. With a screw valve that is easy enough to do.
Thats fine if you want to arm up at home if your a capable person with lots experience (as most people are including the ones that have accidents) and nobody else around but not at a public event. My feelings are robots should be built and designed to the rules. If your machine design doesnt like a locking bar it needs re designing. I apologise for sounding harsh but we have a duty of care to our staff and arena marshals. maybe we need to come up with a new solution or a better method?
James, Bullfrog has a locking bar, the design is not the issue here. If your response to a legitimate concern regarding a rule in place is "build your robots to spec" then you are not addressing the concern. For the same reason that I do have a power led in my robots, I still do not agree that power leds are a safety measure.
I am saying what I feel is safer. I am not convinced that a locking bar is a safer option, in fact quite the opposite.
Last edited by leorcc; 2nd May 2013 at 14:17. Reason: expansion
Hi leo thats why I said maybe theres a better option or a better wording for the locking bar. As an MD of an events company locking bar v no locking bar its certainly in.
Yes its in the rules but currently the rules can be interpreted in many ways to just scrape through. Thats why there are good locking pins like LF3's and indeed all the Big Nipper Teams robots and then theres people that give it no thought and just stick something together so it passes a tech check. My opinion is that the robot should be designed in a way to properly incorporate such a safety devise rather than it be an after thought. That way its a hec of a lot safer.
Your particular robot Leo you may feel safer not having a locking bar however you must appreciate EO's cant have different standards depending on the builders point of view (and I do respect yours as a veteran). There must be standard rules regarding safety and the robots must be designed to incorporate them. safety rules should never be an after thought once a robot has been built.
Maybe we should come up with some standards for the locking bars and test them in the arena for tech checking.
Last edited by james...venom; 2nd May 2013 at 18:25.
The only problem I have with testing a locking bar is that to test it on my axe feather includes putting a speed 900 on 25V into a full stall probably blowing fuses potentially speed controllers etc. I can understand for CO2 systems where a robot may not be at risk from it's own locking bar but in an electric weapon the locking bar can actually inflict damage onto the motors and circuitry of the weapon it is meant to hold.
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