Rule 6.3 The Link

[robjones]

I was reading about Typhoon II in the latest RW members mag and the way in which they located the link. Ive mused over full body spinners in the past but rules in 6.3 seem to make them all fall foul of this rule.
How can the link be removed from the centre of Typhoon II without endagering the person?(assuming that due to an internal problem the disk is still spinning).Surely impossible, I wouldnt do it!!
Also rule 6.3.2 says that the link must be fitted away from weaponry. Yeah right! Grab the link and lose your feet.
I have to do Risk Assessments all the time at work IMO link positions should be assessed in this way.
I suppose an RC switch as a dead mans switch in series with the link goes part way but its still not within the rules as I read them. Or am I wrong?

[blazerbotics]

it does say somewhere, that if the posistioning of the link is effected due to the design (ie full body spinner) then contact mentorn. so i assume they have had some prior agreement. as far as im aware they use the same system in all the robots, and the middleweight has been around for a while now, so i would assume any concerns would of been raised then.

[robjones]

But thats a cop out. Its either safe or it isnt. Whats the point of the rule if its down to discretion.

[spinnerboy]

so true rob.

i also deal with health and saftey at work,and your right rules are rules and companys often bend the rules to make things easier for them selfs

[leorcc]

If Typhoon II spins out of control, the house robots need to pin it down first. In fact, that was what they were there for in the first place. However, the design of the entire Typhoon family is about the same, and should be possible to remove that flag safely. i mean, they have to do it themselves on a regular basis, so i assume they have taken that into account.

[babeth]

You have to remain out of the reach of your robots weapon when putting or pulling the removable link. Typhoon is not that big that an adult cannot reach out and take or place the flag. Besides, you are protected by the lower gate of the bullpen in the Mentorn arena.

[robjones]

Im not saying its impossible to remove the flag Im saying that it contravenes the rules in 6.3 and that I wouldnt like to lean over to grab the flag if the weapon was on and the drive was twitching about.

[babeth]

You also dont want to try and take the removable link out of any other robot thats still running and having its weapon active. Du-uh !
I know several other robots whose removable links are far more difficult to safely reach than Typhoons. Really.

[leorcc]

Mine for instance. And im working on it to solve that.

[panicuk]

Hi All
Something you all might want to think about!
Speaking from the point of view of one who has had the experience of removing the links in most of the competing robots in robot wars. The main issue for the Tech crew is, Can the link be removed safely when the robot is Live or upsidedown outside the arena?.
With full body spinners we can use a House robot to stop them and pin the against the arena wall before making them safe.
Most of the problems come from roboteers putting the link behind a cover or door that is screwed or locked. If that cover becomes damaged in some way how are we supposed to get to the link with the robot on its side? Even with easy access it is very difficult to pull the links on some robots.
The rules are there for ours and your safety, mentorn does not bend the rules, If the tech crew think it will be too dangerious to safely remove the link then that robot team will have to make modifications to their machine to make it safe
Please remember, when you build your robot think about where you will position the link. Then take a sledge hammer to it and perhaps cut a few pannels with an axe, then see if you can still remove the link without cutting you hand on the very small sharp edged access hole coverd with a bent piece of 5mm steel.
Keep it safe out there :-)