Scioly.org

iwonder wrote:Because people don't know it helps? There's a ton of things that are legal in SO, but they just aren't common. I don't see how this is wrong, it's just another technique that allows you to do better. I used to bring a level with me before the rules stated that they're to be provided, I was one of probably two people each contest that brought a level. This doesn't mean we're cheating, it's not illegal, it just means we're doing something that helps out that not a lot of people know or want to try.

I understand and realize that anything that is not specifically forbidden by the rules usually is allowed, still like I said, I have an uneasy feeling about it for some unknown reasons. I have done blow drying and baking these structures and you get about 10% less in weight pretty easily. For a competitive event like national, that is huge and easily the difference between winning and losing. And this has nothing to do with design and/or building skill you put into your structure.

So let me ask you this, you actually blow dry your structure right in front of everyone including the event supervisor at impound?

hogger wrote:

iwonder wrote:Because people don't know it helps? There's a ton of things that are legal in SO, but they just aren't common. I don't see how this is wrong, it's just another technique that allows you to do better. I used to bring a level with me before the rules stated that they're to be provided, I was one of probably two people each contest that brought a level. This doesn't mean we're cheating, it's not illegal, it just means we're doing something that helps out that not a lot of people know or want to try.

I understand and realize that anything that is not specifically forbidden by the rules usually is allowed, still like I said, I have an uneasy feeling about it for some unknown reasons. I have done blow drying and baking these structures and you get about 10% less in weight pretty easily. For a competitive event like national, that is huge and easily the difference between winning and losing. And this has nothing to do with design and/or building skill you put into your structure.

So let me ask you this, you actually blow dry your structure right in front of everyone including the event supervisor at impound?

I believe it is just as legal as being allowed to clean the floor in scrambler before your run- and should be kept legal. These build events are more than just building. Understanding the environment you are testing in (and how you can legally optimize it) can be a HUGE factor in success and shows that a team really thought things through.

iwonder wrote:Because people don't know it helps? There's a ton of things that are legal in SO, but they just aren't common. I don't see how this is wrong, it's just another technique that allows you to do better. I used to bring a level with me before the rules stated that they're to be provided, I was one of probably two people each contest that brought a level. This doesn't mean we're cheating, it's not illegal, it just means we're doing something that helps out that not a lot of people know or want to try.

Hehe, I would bring one too, because hey, no one ever said you can't! For those with tips, it would be really helpful to add them to the wiki page, (or I might do it when I'm not busy) to help others in the spirit of competition. I strongly believe that even if one has no experience whatsoever, and even little design sense, they can still EASILY achieve a very high score by simply following the best practices as described on the wiki and forums... These would include things such as using a simple jig, or 3/32 bass for tension, or using balsa for compression, etc.

Agreeing with JonB, isn't that what engineers also do? Understanding the environment and using it to their advantage is also one of the aspects of making structures in the real world.

UQOnyx wrote:

iwonder wrote:Because people don't know it helps? There's a ton of things that are legal in SO, but they just aren't common. I don't see how this is wrong, it's just another technique that allows you to do better. I used to bring a level with me before the rules stated that they're to be provided, I was one of probably two people each contest that brought a level. This doesn't mean we're cheating, it's not illegal, it just means we're doing something that helps out that not a lot of people know or want to try.

Hehe, I would bring one too, because hey, no one ever said you can't! For those with tips, it would be really helpful to add them to the wiki page, (or I might do it when I'm not busy) to help others in the spirit of competition. I strongly believe that even if one has no experience whatsoever, and even little design sense, they can still EASILY achieve a very high score by simply following the best practices as described on the wiki and forums... These would include things such as using a simple jig, or 3/32 bass for tension, or using balsa for compression, etc.

Agreeing with JonB, isn't that what engineers also do? Understanding the environment and using it to their advantage is also one of the aspects of making structures in the real world.

I am not trying to be difficult but still no one answers my question. Do you bring your hair dryer or oven and do it right in front of everyone at impound before you put your structure up for weighing? It is legal right? Why not do it right up to the last possible moment?

Yeah, bringing a hair dryer to state and drying my device there is exactly what I'm planning on doing. (It's humid here so you have to wait) I there aren't power outlets where they test booms, so I'll have to do it in our teams area, but it's the same idea.

At our impound, you have to get in line to do the checking. You could easily wait 10 minutes or more until your turn. From experience, 10-15 minutes later, you could gain back 70-80% of the weight back especially in humid environment.

hogger wrote:

UQOnyx wrote:

iwonder wrote:Because people don't know it helps? There's a ton of things that are legal in SO, but they just aren't common. I don't see how this is wrong, it's just another technique that allows you to do better. I used to bring a level with me before the rules stated that they're to be provided, I was one of probably two people each contest that brought a level. This doesn't mean we're cheating, it's not illegal, it just means we're doing something that helps out that not a lot of people know or want to try.

Hehe, I would bring one too, because hey, no one ever said you can't! For those with tips, it would be really helpful to add them to the wiki page, (or I might do it when I'm not busy) to help others in the spirit of competition. I strongly believe that even if one has no experience whatsoever, and even little design sense, they can still EASILY achieve a very high score by simply following the best practices as described on the wiki and forums... These would include things such as using a simple jig, or 3/32 bass for tension, or using balsa for compression, etc.

Agreeing with JonB, isn't that what engineers also do? Understanding the environment and using it to their advantage is also one of the aspects of making structures in the real world.

I am not trying to be difficult but still no one answers my question. Do you bring your hair dryer or oven and do it right in front of everyone at impound before you put your structure up for weighing? It is legal right? Why not do it right up to the last possible moment?

1. We use silica gel in containers that should stay sealed- which is similar (probably not as effective as a hair dryer, but is simple and overall effective).
2. You don't impound boomi, so you can do whatever you want up until it's checked in and weighed. After that, nothing can be done/modified.
3. No reason to NOT do it up until the last moment, except for the logistics of running a hair dryer in a crowd.

> 1. We use silica gel in containers that should stay sealed- which is similar (probably not as effective as a hair dryer, but is simple and overall effective).

You can blow dry the structure before putting it in the sealed box with lots of silica. In fact, blow dry the air in the box and the structure as much as you can before sealing it. That should work better.

hogger wrote:> 1. We use silica gel in containers that should stay sealed- which is similar (probably not as effective as a hair dryer, but is simple and overall effective).

You can blow dry the structure before putting it in the sealed box with lots of silica. In fact, blow dry the air in the box and the structure as much as you can before sealing it. That should work better.

Agreed. The silica is more of a "longer term" (as in several day) storage solution. I mean, you could bring an incubator with you to dry it as well. There are many things that can work, but there has to be a balance of simplicity to drying efficiency (and not over-drying for a prolonged period of time as mentioned earlier).

Or hair dry it and pack it into an airtight ziploc bag with silica packets already in it,