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Spockie-Tech
Site Admin
Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 3160
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Well, after all the to-ing and fro-ing, which has bought up several good points to consider along the way, I now feel more comfortable with the idea of deleting the high pressure gauge requirement,
*provided a suitably rated burst disc / relief valve is fitted*
. (The "as long as" condition I suspected might have gone along with someones comment about what Steve Judd said).
Having re-read the pneumatics rules with more attention (previously I just skimmed them lightly since I havent been working with pneumatics myself), I see this is a requirement anyway.. So far Jason and yourself are the only ones to utilise high pressure CO2 systems that require compliance with all these safety regulations so I am not as familair as I would like to be with such sysems
However, in the interest of covering ones posterior if nasty things do happen,
it would still be good to have a clear statement from an qualified source to refer to if we are ever hauled over the coals for modifying the accepted standard safety rules
. Saying "we talked about it amongst ourselves and decided it was OK" doesnt really suffice if none of us can show relevant experience or qualifications to a judge. Electrical Things I am qualified to judge, Pneumatic I am not.
Along that note, has your custom-made system been tested and certified by a qualified person ? Since it has been made in England, then I would assume it complies with the FRA rules 8.7 and 8.71 in this regard ? I dont want to have to be this picky, but I have no idea what is required metallurgy, seal, and welding wise to safely contain 800psi so I can only rely on an opinion from a person who is supposed to know their job.
I get the feeling we are going to need to find someone local who can assist us with this sort of thing fairly soon.. any suggestions on where we can find a tame friendly qualified pneumatics expert who can provide certifications and opinions on these sort of items ? _________________ Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people
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Tue Sep 28, 2004 10:53 am |
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Spockie-Tech
Site Admin
Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 3160
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Absolutely.. Nearly all the machines we play with are dangerous.
If they didnt have the ability to seriously injure a wet soft squishy human, then they certainly wouldnt be able to do much to a steel armoured box.
I think the things that make Pneumatics a bit extra dangerous is their potential for instant, no-warning violence.
A spinner may well carry much greater energy than a pneu ram does, but its obvious whether a spinner is in its "lots of energy stored here" state, and if it is accidentally activated then it generally takes a second or three before its really dangerous while it spins up. This gives you a bit of time to duck, dodge or deactivate.
A Pneumatic bot can be sitting totally quiescent, and if you accidentally short a wire while some part of your body is in the wrong place, that body part will quite likely be on the opposite side to you milliseconds later. Thats why they require a lot more respect than your average spinner. Blink wrong, and you could be instantly dead.
I couldnt believe how often the guy in that video was sitting with his head directly in the path of his flipper arm, or the ram. and while his "friend" is busy dicking about with the wires to the battery as well !! ah well, Darwin's laws of natural selection are still operative, despite our attempt to legislate against stupidity..
I'll just take this opportunity to say that while I know we're still learning and getting better at it, I think the standards of pit and arena safety have been a little lax in places so far. I saw several occasions at Marayong where a trip-over or an accidental radio activation would have left some people in serious trouble. People in the arena who shouldnt have been and so on. Yes I know, I am not free of such behaviour either. I have occasionally done some dumb things that deserve a slap in the face myself.
I'm thinking it might be a good idea for each event to have someone (other than the EO who has too many other things on their plate) assigned as "safety officer".. preferably someone technically literate, but who isnt actually competing at that event to be given a little "black book" to roam around the event with over the weekend, and issue warnings, and note down any instances of unsafe practices they observe. At the end of the event, whichever team has the most "black marks" against them gets awarded an "impending darwin award" or something like that.
I realise the position of "safety officer" would probably be about as popular as that of a parking-inspector, but I think its about time we started slapping some wrists before they get broken.. _________________ Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people
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Wed Sep 29, 2004 9:59 am |
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