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Official Q&A: VRC 2020-2021: Change Up

Usage Guidelines All Questions

673: What parts of the motor and motor cartridge can VRC teams modify?

2114C
21-Oct-2020

Attached is a labeled picture of all the components of a VEX V5 Smart Motor and its Gear Cartridge: [Example Image] [Example Image]

For each individual labeled part, is it legal for VRC Teams to do one or multiple of the following:

  • Modify the part using legal modification techniques.
  • Replace the part with a legally manufactured part.
  • Remove the part.
  • Use the part for other purposes outside of the motor (e.g. using the J type screws elsewhere in the robot construction).

I understand that the legality of modifying/replacing/removing/using elsewhere of some of these parts has previously been ruled upon in the following Q&As: https://events.vex.com/VRC/2020-2021/QA/610

https://events.vex.com/VRC/2020-2021/QA/490

https://events.vex.com/VRC/2020-2021/QA/101

However, my goal with this Q&A is to remove any ambiguity as to the legality of modifications made to V5 Smart Motors or the Motor Cartridge.

R22  
Answered by Game Design Committee

Please recall rule <G3> when looking for edge-case robot rule interpretations:

<G3> Use common sense. When reading and applying the various rules in this document, please remember that common sense always applies in the VEX Robotics Competition.

Rule <R22> states the following:

<R22> No modifications to electronic components are allowed. Motors (including the internal PTC or Smart Motor firmware), microcontrollers (including V5 Robot Brain firmware), extension cords, sensors, controllers, battery packs, reservoirs, solenoids, pneumatic cylinders, and any other electrical component or pneumatics component of the VEX platform may NOT be altered from their original state in ANY way.

[... clipped for brevity ...]

c. Teams may change or replace the gears in the “2-Wire 393” or “2-Wire 269” motors with the corresponding official VEX Replacement Gears.

d. Teams may change or replace the gear cartridge in the V5 Smart Motor with other official replacement gear cartridges.

The intent of rule R22 is to state that "any modifications to motors are not permitted". The intent of points "c" and "d" exist to point out that certain parts of VEX motors were designed to be user-serviceable, and servicing those parts is legal.

The Q&A's linked above clarified that V5 Smart Motor Cap, as a part that is intended to be user-serviceable, is also included in this group. Although this is the first question that has mentioned it, the threaded mounting inserts were also intended to be user-serviceable. These points will be added to R22 in a future game manual update.

Any further disassembly, modification, replacement, removal, or re-purposing of the V5 Smart Motor is neither an intended design of the motor, nor an intended design challenge in the VEX Robotics Competition, and would not be legal.

This post, alongside the upcoming game manual update, should be used as the definitive overarching response to any further V5 motor modification questions. Any further Q&A's on this subject will be answered by referring back to this response and/or quoting the game manual.