No CIM Motor in 2006?

[Sscamatt]

While browsing the IFI Robotics site today I noticed that the CIM motors were out of stock and under it it says "We will not be receiving any more of these items". Could this mean an end to CIM motors?

http://www.ifirobotics.com/kitbot.shtml

[Don Wright]

I doubt that. I bet they just don't want to have CIM motors sitting around for a year.

[sanddrag]

I bet they just don't want to have CIM motors sitting around for a year.I actually would doubt that. At only $28 a pop they would be a big hit with the battlebots community. They probably just can't get enough of them from Chiaphua, or there were only a certain amount made before the season, most went in the kits, IFI sold a certain amount, and now the rest are going to the regionals as spares.

So in concurrence with the above post, I too doubt the Chiaphua motors will leave any time soon. Especially with all the development that was put into the kit-provided gearbox.

[Don Wright]

I also think that due to the debacle with the Fisher Price motors this year, along with the problems of getting replacements for other motors (like having to buy an entire van door or something), I think it's in FIRST's best interest to have more control over the motors and having IFI be a sole source for these CIM motors is excellent.

How's that for a run-on sentence.

[Peter Matteson]

I also doubt they would change the kitbot transmission after they already tooled up for this year. Retooling would be expensive and I don't see this part of the kit disappearing if FIRST wants to continue to attract rookie teams. Particularly if they want teams that may not have the engineering background which some of the long timers have.

[Conor Ryan]

I actually would doubt that. At only $28 a pop they would be a big hit with the battlebots community.

why get one of those when you can get a nice Magmotor (http://www.magmotor.com/mot.htm), now thats my kind of motor, if we could use those it'd be great.

[sanddrag]

why get one of those when you can get a nice Magmotor (http://www.magmotor.com/mot.htm) Not all of us have $250+ to spend on one motor. You could buy 9 Chias for the price of a Mag. I think the Chias win the power:dollar ratio.

[coreyjon]

Yea, I agree with that last statement, but those magmotors are just so powerful :D . Maybe they can up the ante and let us build even bigger, I know this has been discussed before, but I still think it would be cool to move up to a 24v power system, or maybe even above that, Of course they could make the terrain more rugged, like say the surface of a planet *caugh*Mars*caugh*, and the extra power could help move us through the sand while keeping the current draw down, so the motors could stay cooler. I would like to get two of those magmotors in the kit, it would suck to fry one, but the power required to do that is immense. Think about the torque!

[Bharat Nain]

but those magmotors are just so powerful :D .
Exactly why FIRST won't let us have them. They're a potential risk as some high school students[geniuses] are building robots... if ya know what i mean..:ahh:

[Andy A.]

There is always a more powerful motor, stronger material, better battery, faster processor and on and on.

Part of the fun of this competition is taking motors designed to lift RV's and open van doors and make them lift tetras and move robots. I love the 'do what you can with what you've got' mentality that FIRST forces us think with.

Give me 4, 6 volt FP motors next year, and I won't notice the loss of those heavy CIM's! I don't care if I have to replace them every match, I need every oz I can get.

Heck, just give every team 8 FP motors, and see what happens :). Now that would lead to some interesting drive trains.

-Andy A.

[sanddrag]

Now that would lead to some interesting drive trains.
Naw, there's nothing interesting. We would just have 8 dewalt transmissions or 8 AM planetaries. LOL.

[NoodleKnight]

And a lot more robots letting off smoke.

[bombadier337]

Do you think it is likely they will stick with the gearboxes too? My team is probably going to mock up an experimental drivetrain over the summer and if they used they same parts it would make it easier for us to transition the design over when the build season actually started.

[coreyjon]

"Part of the fun of this competition is taking motors designed to lift RV's and open van doors and make them lift tetras and move robots. I love the 'do what you can with what you've got' mentality that FIRST forces us think with." - Andy A.

I agree, That is what makes this more challenging, and more exciting. I too enjoy the "Macgyver" aspect of FIRST. I can tell you like the FP's, I think of the FP's as the party motor, they are kinda like mini smoke generators. I'll admit, they are light, and depending on what your asking of thoose motors, they may burn out if you stall them for just a short while. Those CIM's on the other hand are very robust, and it takes a lot of abuse to kill them.

[Pballer829]

The chips better stay... I mean come on, you could probably power a Ford escort with like 6-8 of 'em. And there needs to be less of a power gap between the motors, cuz right now the next most powerful motor is the FP. i forgot the exact output, but the output difference was somthing like 320-somthing to 60-somthing.

[Steve W]

The hips are made for FIRST. They are cheap and reliable. They may change the specs a bit to keep us on our toes but they are here to stay (for now).

[Validius]

Personally, i love the FP's They are great for just about everything. I would like to see 12 volt FPs though. 6 volts just isn't enough.

HOWEVER. better then all of that would be a 24 volt system. current is not your friend. low heat, high torque=we all win. I would love to see somthing that deals with sand. it would be quite a challange that most teams have never seen. Perhaps we should have a year where there is alot of manuvering and not much lifting. i would LOVE to see some hovorbots.

[dlavery]

The hips are made for FIRST. They are cheap and reliable. They may change the specs a bit to keep us on our toes but they are here to stay (for now).

Oh? You know something that the rest of us don't? :)

-dave

[JVN]

I also doubt they would change the kitbot transmission after they already tooled up for this year. Retooling would be expensive...
Yes.
It's not as though this transmission could be quickly adapted for use with other motors...

I mean... who would ever run a FP, Globe, or Van Door through that gearbox. ;)

2006 - The Year of the Globe Motor... :ahh:

[sanddrag]

Personally, i love the FP's They are great for just about everything. I would like to see 12 volt FPs though. 6 volts just isn't enough.
We run our 6V FPs at a full 12V and have not yet had a problem (not even warm) because we use each in conjunction with two FPs. The 6V motors work just fine for us. But that's not really the point I'm going to make here.

The thing with the FPs though about being "great for just about everything" is that they aren't. The gearbox that comes with them is all plastic. While this may be good for weight, it isn't for durability. So, lets talk just about the motor. The motor packs a lot of punch in a very small size. This leads to the problem of overheating (when not used like we used them). Also, it spins at a very fast ~20,000 rpm. This requires another stage of reduction compared to match the Chiaphua. Also, the FP is fairly small and fragile. The shaft is only 1/8" where the Chia is over 5/16" Also, the power tabs bend and break off. Also, the internal fan blades are very fragile and they break off. Also, the motor can is not fully sealed so debris can fall inside.

Also, I don't think two FPs would be adequately capable of driving a robot where 2 Chias would.

Aside from weight and size, I cannot see any advantages to the FP over the Chia.

The Chia is a hefty industrial motor that serves us well. I hope it is here to stay.

[slickguy2007]

Is their any reason to believe that we are not going to be able to use 4 cim's again? We are allowed to use 4 cim's on the base, is their reason to believe that they won't allow that anymore?


GO 1403!!!

[NoodleKnight]

Maybe drill motors are gonna make a comeback. I wouldn't mind =) -- even if the cim's are less finicky, the drill motors packed a lot of power in a fairly small package and could tolerate some abuse (more than the FP's, at least).