How many motors are you thinking youll use?

[Sean Raia]

So, how many? I know very few teams have solid plans yet, but what does your current idea require? Ours is looking to be 8 which i realize is pretty high, and it really worries me.

[the man]

I would say some where between 7 and 10. 8 is not to bad when you consider what you need. Drive, Ball lifter of some kind, shooter / kicker.

[Sean Raia]

Not using pneumatics is likely what will save us and allow us to do that many motors this year. Im glad our design is not completely out of the realistic range

[dudeman2009]

In previous years, we have done both extremes between Motors and Pneumatics. This year, nothing is set in stone but I am looking at somewhere around or between 5 to 9 motors. Whether or not we use pneumatics this year is still up for toss.

[Dheer Mirchanda]

In the kickoff presentation we heard we were allowed 22 motors and we figured that if we can have that many on it, mighters well make the robot fly, no rules against it so yeah, 22 motors it is :D

[Andrew Lawrence]

7 motors right now, 1 of them being an extra placeholder just in there incase.

[gyroscopeRaptor]

22 motors? Challenge Accepted.

We haven't decided on our design, but a man can dream.

[dudeman2009]

22 motors, ok, some small some large; they may be a strain on the single battery unless a large some of them are small motors or servos.

Kudos to the team that maxes out with 22 CIM, Window, BaneBots, and other largeish motors, then makes it throughout the whole round with no power problems.

[MagiChau]

22 motors? Challenge Accepted.

We haven't decided on our design, but a man can dream.

The vex motor could spin a tiny flag around boosting your motor count.

[davidthefat]

Actually you can use an unlimited number of servos this year.

[Katie_UPS]

If I had my way, any unused motors would go towards frivolous tasks such as spinning pinwheels and running a continuous rube-goldberg-esque contraption that looks like its a functioning part of the robot but is really just confusing and does nothing productive.

Just because there are 22 to use and being ridiculous is fun :P


But seriously, as few as possible. Speed controllers are expensive and I like to avoid frivolous power draw.

[ThaineP]

I'm thinking 8 or 9, 4 drive, one for the ball raising mechanism, either a motor or a pneumatic cylinder for elevation, and 2 for the launching mechanism, and likely one more for some ball sucker thingy.

[greasemonkey]

the only problem is see with using 22 motors as soon as you get out of autonomous your out of power

[Taylor]

8.

4 CIMS on drivetrain.
1 window motor for floor loader.
2 FPs in a CIM-SIM for the launcher.
1 VEX 393 for the turret.

[SenorZ]

7 if we go with the much maligned 2-CIM drive setup, 9 if we go 4-CIM.

[Jon Stratis]

At this point, I think we're thinking:

4 for drive
2 for the ball lifter/gatherer
2 for the shooter
1 for the turret

That could change once we get stuff built. For example, we might go up to 4 motors on the shooter, or add an extra motor on the lifter/gatherer. But, the good news is we finalized our overall design last night, so now we can stop prototyping and start working on specifics!

[JamesCH95]

We're looking at 9 and pneumatics. Ambitious.

[Bob Steele]

8.

4 CIMS on drivetrain.
1 window motor for floor loader.
2 FPs in a CIM-SIM for the launcher.
1 VEX 393 for the turret.

Do you really think the VEX motor will spin your turret?
Remember the ratings on the spec sheets are for 7.2 volts...
I believe and please correct me if I am wrong..that they will be getting 5 volts from the digital side car... and not 7.2

They are tough little motors..and unlike the servos, they are continuous rotation so they could be geared but be careful of using the specs you are seeing on the tech spec sheet...those numbers are based on using the VEX battery (7.2 volts) which isn't legal...I would think they would pull 5 volts from the digital side car...

Does anyone have an answer for this?

[dodar]

We are looking at around 11-12 motors.

[Dr Theta]

We are looking at 9-10.

[KennyLives]

Somewhere in the range of 8-10. 8 is not too many.

[gurellia53]

But seriously, as few as possible. Speed controllers are expensive and I like to avoid frivolous power draw.

And that's why we're only using 21.

[Joe Schornak]

14 motors. It shall be glorious, noisy, and likely the bane of our battery charger. Some may be powered through relays to free up motor controllers.

[AcesJames]

4 CIMs - Drivetrain
2 775s - Shooter
2 FPs - Elevator
2 Windows - Turret pitch and yaw
2 550s - Ball staging and pre-shoot spin up
1 Van Door - Bridge tipper

13 in total, so far. Might end up being 14 with the addition of a third 550.

[AllenGregoryIV]

4 - CIMs for the Drive
2 - 550s or 775s (if we risk it) for the collector/elevator
2 - FP in a CIM-sim for the shooter
1- Window motor for shooter angle adjustment
1- Van door motor for the bridge device

10 in total. (The van door motor will probably be on a spike)

The teams that aren't listing a motor for the bridge are you using pneumatics, not going for the bridge, or have some form of passive bridge tipping system?

[Aren_Hill]

actually at 15, heard of a team using 19

[Grim Tuesday]

4 CIM- drive
4 BB550's-Shooter
2 FP's-collector

10

[Andrew Lawrence]

The teams that aren't listing a motor for the bridge are you using pneumatics, not going for the bridge, or have some form of passive bridge tipping system?

We're using pneumatics to control our bridge actuator.

[MrForbes]

hmmm....

4 drive
1 fp shooter
1 fp collector/conveyor
1 AM gearmotor turret
I compressor

I sure hope that's all we need...

[Kevin Sevcik]

Oh why not...

4 CIMs on drive
2 FPs shooter
2 RS-550s conveyor
1 PG71 (new AM gearmotor) deploying the bridge wedge/platform
possibly 1 PG71 or window on shooter angle


Comments on some earlier posts:

There is, in fact, a practical limit of 30 (servos + Vex motors) since you only have 20 possible PWMs on 2 sidecars.

Similarly, there' only so many motors you can put on your robot. Or, at least, only so many speed controllers. At $110 each past the first 4, they start taking a significant chunk out of your budget. I realize not everything needs a Jaguar, but still, that 19 motor team is blowing a lot of budget just on motor controllers. Not to mention whatever they're using for gearboxes or couplings or what have you....

[lemiant]

We'll only be using 6-8 :O

Also, no pneumatics

[sanddrag]

We currently have mounting locations designed in for 10 speed controls. I'm thinking of bumping it up to 12. And we will have a pneumatics system.

[GRT808]

Maybe a total of 8-9, definitely using pneumatics too.

[AdamHeard]

17

[MichaelBick]

4 CIMs - Drive
1 - 2 FP - Shooter
4 550(if we can get the gearboxes) - Ground Pickup & Ball Elevator

[Hawiian Cadder]

4 Cims - Drive-train
Denso - Passive/active ramp lowering mechanism
2 Rs-550 - conveyor and Intake system
2 fisher price(291 watt version) - ball exit system

9 motors in total, however the conveyor and intake motors are geared for max efficiency, and they are the only motors other than the Cims which will be running frequently.

[penguinfrk]

13 motors
4-6 pistons

[wireties]

Looks like 16 for FIRST Team 1296, 4 on the wheels, 5 on the gatherer, 5 on the shooter, and 2 for ramp lowering devices.

[Mr. Rogers]

About 12, and a couple pneumatic cylinders. In a two and a half minute match, I'm not all about having a nearly full battery when we're done. Last year, our battery could have lasted 4 to 5 matches easy. Use the power I say!! Liberate the electrons!! :D

[Gdeaver]

Too many. Does any body know how to get an extra 12 amp/ hours into the battery?

[Bruceb]

Well, 4 CIMS, 2 FPs, 3 550's and 2 window motors or one window motor and a van door motor and 4 pneumatic cylinders for now.

[Thad House]

4 CIMs - 6 Wheel Drive
2 775s
1 P60 16:1 for Conveyor System
1 CIMUlator for Shooter
2 AM-9015's Through PG71 Gearboxes
1 Ball Intake
1 Shooter Feeder
1 Window for Bridge Mechanism

This is our 1st year going with 4 CIM drive, and we like it except for the fact the whenever we take off in reverse our robot goes up on 2 wheels.

[nitneylion452]

Our final bot is using:
4 CIMs for drive
2 RS-550s for shooter
1 PG71 Gearmotor for ball intake bucket lifter
1 RS-395 for ball intake brush
2 Servos

For a grand total of 10 motors (8 if you don't count servos). This is more than we have ever used, probably due to the fact that we're not using pneumatics.

[davidthefat]

2 CIMs for Drive (I have been pushing for 4 CIMs for 6 weeks...)

That's it.

[JamesCH95]

:eek: two motors? That's it?

[dodar]

Our final is: 4 for shooter, 2 for intake system, 1 for bridge knocker, 4 for drivetrain. This is only 1 more motor than we expected to use.

[Wetzel]

9 total motors.
4 (CIM) for the drive, 1 (window) for the bridge, 4 (FP, andymark gearmotor, 2 RS 550s) for the balls.

[Garret]

We are using 16 motors and 2 servos on the robot this year. This is the most we have ever used on a robot (its more than double our other robots).

[Chef Jeff]

So, how many? I know very few teams have solid plans yet, but what does your current idea require? Ours is looking to be 8 which i realize is pretty high, and it really worries me.

We ended up with 10 ! yes that is a lot

[Jim Wilks]

13:

4 CIM's for trivetrain
1 Window motor for bridge pulldown
4 RS775's for ball elevators
2 AM gearmotors for pan and tilt
2 FP's for launcher

More than we've ever done before as well

Space was tight in the Power Distribution board

[Madison]

We have 5.

4 for drive, 1 for ball collection.

Everything else is completely pneumatic -- a huge departure from our typical design philosophy.

[MrForbes]

Everything else is completely pneumatic -- a huge departure from our typical design philosophy.

We don't have a design philosophy about motors vs. pneumatics. We use whatever we think is needed for how we're playing the particular game. Some years, it's all motors, others it's all pneumatics, usually it's a mix.

[Madison]

We don't have a design philosophy about motors vs. pneumatics. We use whatever we think is needed for how we're playing the particular game. Some years, it's all motors, others it's all pneumatics, usually it's a mix.

We've tried to avoid pneumatics where possible because they can be so heavy -- and that was a problem for us somewhat this season -- but the newly found plastic accumulators go a long way toward mitigating some of the issues you can run into with weight and available air.

Our 2012 robot has a lot of binary mechanisms -- up/down, in/out stuff -- that are well-suited toward pneumatics and, since our ball catapult is wholly pneumatic, we were already taking the weight hit for the required components.

[jwfoss]

The 2012 FRC2168 machine has 8 Motors Total:
- 4 CIMs for the drive
- 2 FP 0673s for the shooter
- 2 BB550s for the intake/lift

Lots of air to do everything else.

[MrForbes]

We've tried to avoid pneumatics where possible because they can be so heavy

One reason we love pneumatics is because you can put most of the weight where you want it. Compressor and storage tank down low, lightweight actuator up high.

[klmx30302]

We have 12 motors total:
4 cims for drive,
4 rs-550s for the shooter,
2 fisherprice motors, 1 for each part of our ball collector,
1 window motor for the bridge manipulator,
1 andymark motor for the turret

[Andrew Lawrence]

11 motors. And we don't even have a turret.

[gyroscopeRaptor]

We've tried to avoid pneumatics where possible because they can be so heavy -- and that was a problem for us somewhat this season -- but the newly found plastic accumulators go a long way toward mitigating some of the issues you can run into with weight and available air.

Our 2012 robot has a lot of binary mechanisms -- up/down, in/out stuff -- that are well-suited toward pneumatics and, since our ball catapult is wholly pneumatic, we were already taking the weight hit for the required components.

So my team isn't alone in pneumatic catapults this year! Last year we had a 2stage arm using pneumatics with three double solenoids.

Our robot uses a double selfcentering solenoid for fast fire/resetting of the catapult arm, four CIM drive, two window motors for the bridge tipper, and one window motor for the ball picker-upper. Our camera will likely use two servos. The challenge was not accepted.

[Madison]

So my team isn't alone in pneumatic catapults this year! Last year we had a 2stage arm using pneumatics with three double solenoids.

Our robot uses a double selfcentering solenoid for fast fire/resetting of the catapult arm, four CIM drive, two window motors for the bridge tipper, and one window motor for the ball picker-upper. Our camera will likely use two servos. The challenge was not accepted.

There's some video of our catapult here: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102271

I'm waiting to get some more recent pictures and videos so that I can upload them to YouTube and here.

Our catapult system has, I believe, 7 solenoids operating in various capacities to provide all of its functionality.

[fox46]

Robot #1
8 wheel Drive: 4x CIM, 2x RS775
Shooter: 2x FP
Feeder/Conveyor: 1x RS550
Shooter Azimuth: 1x AndyMark 0912
Feeder deployment/retraction: 1x Window
Ball staging: 1x RS550

Robot #2
10 wheel Drive: 4x CIM, 2x FP0673 *makes Tim Taylor sounds* :P
Shooter: 2x RS550
Feeder/Conveyor: 1x RS550
Ball staging: 1x Window
Feeder deployment/retraction: 1x Window, (a pneumatic retrofit is being discussed for durability)

[Mr. Rogers]

12
6 drive motors
-4 CIMS
-2 775 bane bots
2 shooter motors
-2 775 bane bots
1 intake roller motor
-fisher price
1 hood adjustment motor
-andy mark gear
2 elevator motors
-2 window motors

UNLIMITED POWER!! (like palpatine with lightning)

[davidthefat]

:eek: two motors? That's it?

Yep, and yet our drivetrain ended up being 86 lb... I don't even want to start on this...

[PayneTrain]

2 CIMs for Drive (I have been pushing for 4 CIMs for 6 weeks...)

That's it.

But how can you robot?

We are like the ark for motors: 2 Windows, 2 RS 775s, 2 FPs, 2 Servos, and 2 2-CIM drive transmissions. the windows might change to a van door.

[Richard Wallace]

An even dozen motors for us ---

4 CIMs in the drivetrain (our variation on KoS)
2 FPs (673) power the shooter wheel (6 inch) geared down 72:19
2 KoP Window motors power the ball lift and trigger, independently
1 775-18 (mounted NBD style in a DeWalt drill case) powers the harvester
1 AndyMark gearmotor (am-0914) powers the bridge arm
1 AndyMark gearmotor (am-0914) adjusts turret azimuth
1 ARA seat motor adjusts the turret elevation (via lead screw)

12 motors on the robot is a new high for me. :]

[davidthefat]

But how can you robot?

We are like the ark for motors: 2 Windows, 2 RS 775s, 2 FPs, 2 Servos, and 2 2-CIM drive transmissions. the windows might change to a van door.

The rest of the actuators are pneumatic... Another system I have been against for many weeks...

[Gray Adams]

13. We're down from 15 that we designed for.

4 for turret (2 for flywheel, 2 for adjustment)
2 for belt system
2 for external roller/gatherer
1 for bridge manipulator
4 for drive

We have space on one of our gearboxes for 2 more banebots, but we discovered we don't need the power, we can't afford the weight, and we definitely don't need to drain our battery any faster.

[Sean Raia]

What i originally thought would be 8 motors has turned into a whopping 12.
one for the bridge manipulator, three on the turret, four on the gathering devices, and four on drive.

[JamesCH95]

I may have already posted this, but we wound up with:

10 Motors
4xCIM Drive
1xRS775 Gathering Mechanism
1xRS775 Tower/Loader
1xWindow Shooter Turret
2xRS550 Shooter Rollers
1xCompressor (this counts as a motor in my book)

Pneumatics
2xPistons Shifting
1x3/4"x~1" Piston Ball Loading
2x1.5"x10" Pistons Gatherer/Bridge Deployment
(?)1x3/4"x?" Cow catcher retrofit (maybe)

So many teams with 12-16 motors, most of which are well over 200W... there are a lot of robots with a lot of available power this year. More so than many other years it seems.