Scrambler C

[brian9640]

does anyone know if it would be ok to have something that extends past the egg to stop the vehicle

Per rule 3.g. the egg must be the foremost point of the Vehicle.

Something in front of the egg would be a construction violation.

[ahriman]

Rule 3C states that there should be a cushion on the floor to lower the impact of the falling mass. My question is, does the cushion also has to fit into the 75x75cm dimensions? Thanks in advance.

[pumptato-cat]

rule 3.c states that the entire Scrambler consisting of launcher and ETV must fit in one box, 75*75*50. The cushion on the floor, depending on how you interpret this rule, should be considered part of the Scrambler. (I don't see why your cushion would be larger than that, though, unless your weight is huge.)

[ahriman]

Thank you for the response. When the weight falls on the floor, it is bouncing off the cushion and damaging the surrounding floor, which defeats the purpose of having a cushion.

[pumptato-cat]

Hmm-what are you using for your cushion and weight? Also, I'll check my rules later but I'm pretty sure that your weight bouncing and hitting the floor is a rules violation..

[ahriman]

I am using a polystyrene block as a cushion. It stops the weight from damaging my launcher but it is too bouncy.

[windu34]

Hmm-what are you using for your cushion and weight? Also, I'll check my rules later but I'm pretty sure that your weight bouncing and hitting the floor is a rules violation..

In theory I agree, but I do not see this explicitly in the rules nor the scoring checklist. The wheels leaving residue is in there, but nothing about the mass and the launcher. I believe its been in them in prior years. As an ES, I'm not sure I could penalize this.

[knightmoves]

Hmm-what are you using for your cushion and weight? Also, I'll check my rules later but I'm pretty sure that your weight bouncing and hitting the floor is a rules violation..

In theory I agree, but I do not see this explicitly in the rules nor the scoring checklist. The wheels leaving residue is in there, but nothing about the mass and the launcher. I believe its been in them in prior years. As an ES, I'm not sure I could penalize this.

3c "The falling mass must not directly contact the venue floor by using a pad or similar protective cushion"

In my reading, a falling mass that bounces off a pad and hits the naked floor of the venue is a construction violation.

[pumptato-cat]

I agree with knightmoves.

I am using a polystyrene block as a cushion. It stops the weight from damaging my launcher but it is too bouncy.

I'd suggest changing the pad material. Having the weight bounce, as you stated previously, defeats the purpose of having a cushion. Also, it could be considered a rules violation, depending on what your ES thinks. I would go the safe route and change the pad, as that solves two problems--you don't have the possibility of losing a fight with the ES over whether the weight bouncing is legal or not.
If you can't change the pad material, is there any way to block the weight from bouncing off?

[ahriman]

Thank you for your responses. I will try with other materials for the cushion. But my main question is why does the cushion has to be part of the 75x75cm base? Here is the main issue that I see. Scioly should provide clear instructions to event supervisors on this regard.

Weight is usually directly above the scrambler frame. If it falls on the frame, it will damage the frame even with the cushion. If I keep a thick cushion on the frame, I will lose around 10cm of the 50 cm height, which means I will lose a lot of launch energy. If I make the weight fall away from the frame, I will lose around 20cm from the length of the base, resulting in shorter devices. This means, I have around 55x75x40 for the launcher frame, which does not make sense. I do not believe this is what the rules actually intended to do. I agree that cushion should be there to protect the floor but it should not take up 1/4th of the scrambler dimensions. That space can be better used to build faster and stable devices.