<R24>
A limited amount of custom plastic is allowed. Robots may use custom-made pieces cut from certain types of non-shattering plastic, up to 0.070” (1.78mm) thick.
• Each Robot is limited to a maximum of 12 individual pieces cut from non-shattering plastic. This includes non-shattering plastic used in non-functional decorations.
• Each individual piece of non-shattering plastic cannot be larger than 4” x 8” x 0.070”.
• Teams must present and display ALL non-shattering plastic parts during inspection. Inspectors will verify the total number of plastic pieces. They may use dry-erase markers or other forms of temporary marking to aid in counting. Inspectors will verify that no non-shattering piece exceeds the size limitation.
• Plastic may be mechanically altered by cutting, drilling, bending, etc. It cannot be chemically treated, melted, cast, or bonded to another part. Heating non-shattering plastic to aid in bending is acceptable.
• Legal plastic types are polycarbonate (Lexan), acetal monopolymer (Delrin), acetal copolymer (Acetron GP), POM (acetal), ABS, PEEK, PET, HDPE, LDPE, nylon (all grades), polypropylene, PTFE, and FEP.
• Shattering plastics, such as PMMA (also called plexiglass, acrylic, or perspex), and structurally non-homogeneous plastics, such as woven (e.g., SRPP) and/or fiber-reinforced sheets, are prohibited.
• Plastic sheets sold by VEX (such as the 276-8340 PET Sheets) are considered custom plastic in the context of this rule, and are subject to the same limitations as other plastic parts.
• This rule does not apply to 3D printed plastic parts. 3D printed Robot parts are not permitted in the VEX V5 Robotics Competition for any purpose, including non-functional decorations. Note: Teams are strongly encouraged to provide inspectors with 1:1 scale drawings, identical spares, or 1:1 scale tracings of their non-shattering plastic pieces to aid in inspection. Drawings and tracings should accurately reflect ALL shapes and dimensions of each piece. Complex bent/cut parts, and parts that are cut diagonally across a 4”x8” sheet to gain length may require more evidence. This rule is applied differently for VEX U. See Rules <VUR3> & <VUR4>. This rule has additional Violation notes. See Appendix C.