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In the past roller coaster event, it’s not allowed to use commercial part. This year, the manual did not say about it. Just wonder whether we can use commercial part for competition. Thank you very much.

If the rules do not state that commercial parts are illegal, you may use them. I am not familiar with the Roller Coaster rules, but I've skimmed them and it seems like commercial parts are legal(read carefully, though--you could have missed it in the rules, and it's important to read the rules multiple times).
What do you mean by commercial part, by the way? I interpreted that to be a component manufactured not by you, but bought from a store or somewhere else.

Thank you very much for your help. I read the rules a few times and don’t see any limitations on parts.
What I mean of commercial part is that it’s available for purchase, such as I can buy circle from toy car track:)

Note, NOT an official reply, if you want that, I'd recommend a clarification question to the national website. That is the ONLY way to get official response to questions like these.

That said, what they meant in the past was you couldn't use existing marble run kits or parts thereof. You COULD use commercially available products (how could you not?) like say copper tubing or angle iron, etc to make your own track. In addition, since the rules require you to spell out how you might use 3D printed parts or things like that, you could certainly use those, as long as you describe them fully as laid out in that portion of the rules.

In the past, they have allowed printed paper kits that you could buy on line, receive a file with parts drawings (like a .pdf), print them out and assemble into a device.

Again, not official, but I also don't see anything in this years rules that would eliminate either approach. Mind you, I'm not saying they are good approaches, particularly the paper ones, but probably legal.

Oh, and my problem with the paper devices? They just aren't sturdy or consistent enough to score well from my observation in a number of contests up through nationals. But if its all you have time or resources for, go for it. Better something than nothing, just recognize their limitations.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

Jeff, thank you very much for addressing my questions. Your explanation is very reasonable.
I don't see any rule to elimate the paper kits either. With limited time and limited resources, paper design is a good choice to start and test the ideas. Look forward more new designs toward the end.

So do you guys read this year's rules like the kids could take a commercially made marble run construction set or parts of it and use it in their project?

Yes - teams are free to use parts from a commercial marble run kit this year, so long as all the other rules are followed.

I’ve been a build coach for 8 years, specifically for Rollercoaster.

We are using parts from paperollercoasters.com. We’ve printed on 140lb cardstock which is almost like cardboard.

This years rules, really limit your options.…two reasons: (1) the dimensions and (2) the scoring rubric.

When you’re building a coaster for multiple competitions and travel, you have to use sturdy materials such as PVC and/or wood…this is costly! So paperrollercoasters allowed us to put our budget to the frame (PVC).

Previously, Rollercoaster was allowed to be 60x60x60. This allowed much room for track and gaps. You had room to have many different variations to nail the target time.

This year we have only half the volume to work with. Therefore, we are using the half-pipes (timewaisters) from paperrollercoasters, to hit the target times. Frustrates my students and me as a coach b/c to have competitive scores you have to have both gaps and the loop. The small volume allowed, to get the gaps and loop in there isn’t much volume left for track…so time wasters it is.

I’m hoping next year we are allowed more volume or there is a set time (or time range). The scoring comes from the fun stuff like loops, gaps, funnels, stairs, zig-zags, etc.

Feel free to comment/give suggestions. We are always open to assistance!

Question for those of you using the paperrollercoaster.com kit. At the top of the Build scoresheet the competitors are asked if they used a kit. Does the paperrollercoaster.com kit count for that, so you will answer "yes" or are they asking about commercial parts from marble runs, etc.? thanks.

Yes, a kit bought from paperrollercoasters.com would count as a kit.