A little tip about those drill transmissions and bearings

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Posted by Ed Sparks at 2/6/2001 6:42 PM EST


Engineer on team #34, The Rockets, from Bob Jones High / New Century High and DaimlerChrysler.



I was having a little trouble this year with our drill motors heating up and went into a deep trance about what to do about it .....

I discovered a couple things that should have been obvious but for whatever reason, I've always looked around it.

1. I usually disassemble the transmissions 1st thing to remove those pesky backlash pins and to install 6mm set screws to disable the clutch. This time I stripped all of the grease from the parts and assembled them using a silicon based lubricant. You'll be surprised how much "drag" is eliminated and how much cooler your motors will run.

2. So now my brain is stuck on lubricants and I look at those needle bearings I just purchased from Small Parts and popped into our 'bot. Turns out that these babies are packed with a lubricant that is about as thick as tar. I couldn't even spin the bearing with my finger. Once again I stripped the old grease from these bearings and relubed with silicone. Now they actually act as bearings.

I use a product manufactured by "Slick 50" as my lubricant. I also break my transmissions down every now and then to inspect for wear and relube. So if you have a spare transmission lying around, give it a try. If you dont like it, you can always clean it and repack with grease. So far so good......

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Posted by Anton Abaya at 2/6/2001 11:59 PM EST


Coach on team #419, Rambots, from UMass Boston / BC High and NONE AT THE MOMENT! :(.


In Reply to: A little tip about those drill transmissions and bearings
Posted by Ed Sparks on 2/6/2001 6:42 PM EST:



we lubricated the insides of our gear boxes with some grease with a reddish color. our machinist said the stuff is used for airplane landing gears or something.

(well, we did this because we had to clean out one of the gear boxes due to spilt locktight, but that's another story.)

-anton

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Posted by Josh Vetter at 2/7/2001 9:42 AM EST


Student on team #548, Robostangs, from Northville High School and BOSCH.


In Reply to: lubricant...
Posted by Anton Abaya on 2/6/2001 11:59 PM EST:



How did it work?

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Posted by Ed Sparks at 2/7/2001 8:51 PM EST


Engineer on team #34, The Rockets, from Bob Jones High / New Century High and DaimlerChrysler.


In Reply to: lubricant...
Posted by Anton Abaya on 2/6/2001 11:59 PM EST:



My opinion is that any "grease" is probably not necessary given the job we are trying to do. Bosch probably used a thick grease to keep the lubricant in place over the life of the drill. This lubricant, while reducing the efficiency of the geartrain, probably extends the life of the drill to the point where the customer is happy enough to buy another Bosch drill when the time comes. I for one only require that this drive train last the life of this year's competition. I can extend this life with routine preventative maintenance (lubrication)with a lighter "Oil" and get a performance bonus. Use what you wish. If you develop trouble with heating motors, remember drag (friction) is one of those nasty little facts of robotic life ..............

I'll stop preaching now ........

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Posted by Jim Meyer at 2/7/2001 10:43 AM EST


Engineer on team #67, HOT Team, from Huron Valley Schools and GM Milford Proving Ground.


In Reply to: A little tip about those drill transmissions and bearings
Posted by Ed Sparks on 2/6/2001 6:42 PM EST:



Thanks for the tip Ed! I think we'll give it a try.

This is the sort of thing that makes these forums invaluable.

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Posted by Ben Mitchell at 2/8/2001 6:30 AM EST


Student on team #303, Vulgens Heroes, from Bridgewater-Raritan HS and Bihler.


In Reply to: A little tip about those drill transmissions and bearings
Posted by Ed Sparks on 2/6/2001 6:42 PM EST:



Great idea, Ed. What is the specific Slick 50 product that you used? I was under the impression that Slick 50 was an oil additive - I'm going to stop by the local auto parts store today and see what's available since I wasn't aware that they made more than one product.

--Ben

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Posted by Ed Sparks at 2/9/2001 9:24 PM EST


Engineer on team #34, The Rockets, from Bob Jones High / New Century High and DaimlerChrysler.


In Reply to: Re: A little tip about those drill transmissions and bearings
Posted by Ben Mitchell on 2/8/2001 6:30 AM EST:



Hi Ben

The product I tried is called Slick 50 One Lube. I bought it a couple years ago and I'm not sure it's still on the market. I suspect it is. Anyway, any silicone based lubricant should do the job.