VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

GREENVILLE, TEXAS (December 5, 2012) — VEX Robotics, Inc., announced today a full restructuring of its VEXpro product line with product updates and new releases, giving high-end competitive roboticists superior performance at a lower price. The release includes over 120 new products, including DC motors, gearboxes and wheels.

“We are extremely excited about the re-launch of our VEXpro product line,” said Paul Copioli, president of VEX Robotics. “Competitive robotics teams that build large-scale robots can now do more for significantly less cost.”

Highlights of the VEXpro line include - VEXpro Ball Shifters that utilize a ball lock shifting method accomplished with a lightweight and compact pancake pneumatic cylinder that is included, VersaPlanetary gearboxes that allow for multitudes of gear ratio options and motor choices without requiring a custom pinion gear, and the VersaHub system that ensures precise alignment of wheels and sprockets with the high quality nature of all VEXpro gears and sprockets.

“Competitive robotics enthusiasts will be highly impressed by all of the subtle details in these new products,” said John V-Neun, director of product development for VEX Robotics. “We designed the new VEXpro products to be easily integrated into almost any application, with no frustration or workarounds required.”

The updates to the VEXpro product line launch just in time for the 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition season, of which VEX Robotics and parent company Innovation First International are proud supporters. The companies donate products to the competition’s kit of parts and provide support and mentors to competition teams.

For information about VEXpro, visit www.vexpro.com

About VEX Robotics, Inc.
VEX Robotics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Innovation First International, is a leading provider of educational and competitive robotics products to middle schools, high schools, colleges and robotics teams around the world. The VEX Robotics Design System, winner of the 2006 Best of Innovations Award at CES, was built from the ground up and designed to be an affordable, accessible and scalable platform used to teach science, technology, engineering and math education worldwide. The VEXpro product line, designed for large scale competitive robots, gives robotics enthusiasts superior performance for less cost. The company has over 250 man years of experience supporting educational robotics programs and extensive engineering resources on two continents dedicated to the VEX Robotics platform. For more information on VEX Robotics, visit www.vexrobotics.com.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Produt Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

It all looks like great stuff. Really a game changer I think.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

IT'S LIKE FIRSTmas CAME EARLY THIS YEAR!!!

THANKS VEXPro!

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

These prices are mind blowing.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Awesome stuff, awesome prices, and awesome stuff again :)

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

This looks pretty darn cool. Thanks, VEX.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Aaaaaaaaaand the website's down. :D

This stuff is just plain awesome. I'm proud to be on a team sponsored by such a fantastic company.

EDIT: Back up again.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Some more information on the VEXpro Product Line Relaunch:

VEXpro Product Enhancement Launch Video (YouTube)

All products are available to be ordered now. Orders received before December 21st in the US and the 14th in Canada are guaranteed to ship before kickoff.

Post any questions you have in this thread and myself, Paul Copioli and John V-Neun will answer them as quick as we can.

Best,
Ricky

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Total Apple-style video there! Well done guys! :D

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

We're adding more web servers to handle the load .. should be better shortly.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

AND we killed the site.

EDIT: Sorry didn't see above posts

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

All products being available includes usage of the PDV, right?(I ask here instead of looking it up primarily because I didn't get the chance to look while the site was up)

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I cannot believe it. We literally just bought $150 in bearings from McMaster on Monday. We could have gotten them all for half as much if we knew this was coming. These products and prices are absolutely jaw dropping.

8 .5 flanged bearings and 8 .375 flanged bearings on McMaster - $127.20
8 .5 flanged bearings and 8 .375 flanged bearings on VexPro - $31.84

...

*TABLE FLIP*

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

How can VEX offer prices that low?

No, but really... The Mecanum wheels are half as expensive as AndyMark! And the ball shifter is also half as expensive as the super shifter. These parts are absolutely amazing. Your going to put AndyMark out of business.:D

I kind of wish we could use the PDV for gearboxes instead of motor controllers. Those gearboxes are beautiful.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Just to show how cheap there are, I ran some numbers, and the Ball Shifter gearbox, 3 stages (2nd option on the product page) with every accessory(let's just say, for numerical purposes, they're spare parts-plenty of it is included) is $277.92 for one of each(no CIM). That's insane.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

We were just about to buy over $100 in wheels at Andymark. Now I think we'll probably buy those beautiful VersaWheels for a mear $40.

Amazing work guys, I've already started downloading all of the CAD models.

Thanks!, Bryan

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Produt Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

This really is a game changer! As a team with limited resources at our disposal certain designs are much feasible with these new product lines!

Thank you IFI!!!

EDIT: Already placed an order!

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

IFI has been nothing but impressive recently. This is great!

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

222 is very excited to see someone finally producing Ball Lock transmissions! Something some of us 222 mentors have been dreaming of for years now! :D

We spend more than the asking price of IFI's whole transmission on gears alone just to build ours every year for the last eight years going on nine!

I see lots of nice products at amazing prices! We can't wait to check out and try out the Ball Lock shifters!

McMaster has an amazing return policy! You don't even need to pick up a phone or get an RMA.
http://www.mcmaster.com/mcm/openhelp...Context=return

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Nice job to my friends in Texas for putting together a good line of FRC-ready parts. The FIRST community will certainly benefit from competitive products.

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

This is amazing. Things just get better each time I go to the site and read everything over again.

One big question I have (and I'm sure more people have), is when we can get some detailed specs on those VersaWheels. I know a lot of teams have been thinking of going Colson lately, but if these provide decent enough competition I think we may see a lot of teams changing their minds.

Of course, while this is awesome, AndyMark will always hold a special place in my heart. :P

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

AWESOME work!

Some questions on the ball-lock 3-stage: how do you envision mounting this? From the CAD it looks like there aren't any remaining holes for face mounting, and the flange on the bottom looks like it will flex.

EDIT: Also, any COF data on the new wheels/tread?

EDIT 2: What is the ratio between the output shaft and the encoder shaft in all three configurations? Arg! So many questions :)

EDIT 3: (Until I'm directed elsewhere, I'm just going to dump my questions here) Are the broaches on the versahubs all aligned relative to the bolt circle identically? For a 2" wide wheel, it looks like 2 hubs per wheel would be a good idea.

Cannot wait for this season to start...even moreso than before!

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Will these interface with the previous IFI wheel model?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Your eyes deceive you. The bearings on either side of the housing have different ODs.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I firmly believe this product line will be one of those innovations the community will wonder how they did without.

Kudos to the IFI team on their hard work. Given the players involved, I know the passion, effort, time, and dedication that must have gone into this project. This has the potential to change the face of STEM education and competitive robotics as we know it - and it will.

Amanda

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Gamechanger?

I posted in the Hints thread as well, but over on this side I'm seriously wondering why VEX felt the need to release a 3 CIM gearbox. It it because our team is too "traditional" in our use of CIM motors that I'm not seeing any application, provided we're referring to the general rules on motors from the past few years, where a team would need 3 CIMs through one gearbox?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Who said the third motor has to be a CIM? Three motor gearboxes have been common in FRC especially in the past few years with teams using a 775 or 550 in place of a CIM motor.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

You use two CIMs and another smaller (maybe FP?) through a planetary for the last motor, 2016esque drive. (someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just an electronics guy.)

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

A number of teams have run 3 motors per side in the past. Think 775 + cimulator for the 3rd "cim" on each side.

If you have extra weight and extra motors, no particular reason NOT too :D

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Some of us have been making our own for years:D Interested to see how these new ones hold up...

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I am so, SO impressed.
Can't wait to work with this stuff.
Mad props to IFI on this. :)

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

The last time I was this happy I was first getting into FRC.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Amen

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Having spent a bit of time playing around and looking at the different CAD models, I am now very impressed. These are a very well-designed set of components that work together in many combinations.

Excellent work.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

So in answer, yes, we're a bit traditional on drivetrain allotment

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

This is going to be a great FIRST season. The best thing in the new lineup is the 7075 gears.

What I wish they would offer though is the 7075 #25 hubbed sprockets with a smaller bore (7/16" or less).

We'll likely be making our own for 2013, but if we didn't (as in the past), we'd be going to AndyMark for them.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Well, well, well... I just happen to be needing a couple dozen CIMs and speed controllers for a non-FRC application.

Fortunately I don't need them until after kickoff... I've got a feeling VEX's shipping department is going to be a bit like Santa's workshop for the next few weeks.

IFI earned my respect a decade ago with their equipment and support. Then they came up with that whole awesome VEX thing. Now this... sign me up as a fanboy.

Jason

P.S. I love the other FRC vendors, too... but IFI has been there "forever" for me.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Good thing my team is having a meeting this saturday to start ordering all the part we think we need for the build season. The timing could not be more perfect.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

This is fantastic! These are awesome changes that are going to make a huge impact on the designs of 2013 FRC robots.

We have a huge FRC workshop coming up this Saturday, we'll have to point this out to the teams.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

This is fantastic. Amazing, amazing job.


If you haven't seen the video, watch it.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I had a couple of shocks as I was going through the list.

The first was the pricing. As a mentor who recently joined a different team, I'm trying to get my team to be more proactive in spending and investing in items to build our inventory. This new pricing will be much easier for other mentors/students to swallow.

The flexibility. At first, I saw that you had some basic gearboxes and wheels, and my thought was, "whoop-de-flippin-do", but then I saw all of the output shaft configurations and the flexibility of the VersaHubs. Amazing.

I don't know if it's "game changing" per say, but it's a new, fresh look at the game.

- Sunny G.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I'm glad we got a vendor that does free shipping to Hawaii for all IFI products!:cool:
including pallets!;)

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I think were most excited about having a supplier for hex shaft and bearings right down the road. It was getting bothersome ordering all of that online!

And the rest of the products arent bad either ;)

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Great job John and crew! It looks like you've put together some high quality offerings that look really sharp.

I'm really pumped to see all of the recent activity in the FRC sized robot hardware game. Having a bunch of cheap and reliable component options is going to do numbers for the growth and sustainability of this (and similar) programs.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Nice work with that product line. Very nice work.

IFI's experience with engineering for mass production appears to have resulted in a great feature set at an excellent price point. They've definitely shaken up the economics of FRC in a good way! (I'm very curious about the business model and the profit margin, though....)

It's going to be interesting to see AndyMark adapt to this: they've released some nice new components as well, but I can't help but conclude they've been grossly upstaged. AndyMark has the FIRSTChoice contract, but they're going to have to work on optimizing the details to catch up to IFI's latest offerings. And since it's too late for major part changes for 2013, will this force AndyMark to cut prices and reduce their 2013 earnings targets?

I hadn't recently thought to count the number of staff working for IFI with top-quality FRC experience—but they've got a dream team going there, for sure. AndyMark has expertise, but (I presume) doesn't have the financial flexibility to pay a horde of FRC experts to work on things they're passionate about for a year, and doesn't have the supply chain and in-house manufacturing capability to turn out a completely new product line in that time.

On a wholly speculative note, I wonder what kind of market pressure it would take for AndyMark (a smallish business) to conclude that if you can't beat them, join them?

As for BaneBots, given IFI's new planetaries, they're done for. There is a 0% chance that I'd waste my time dealing with BaneBots' frequently unreliable gearheads, or their hit-and-miss service, when IFI—full of people I know and trust—is offering a substitute at a comparable price, with the promise ("coming soon") of better documentation and reasonable prospects for on-time delivery. BaneBots can't be making much profit on their low-end can motors, and unless they have a huge surprise for us, that's essentially all they'll be selling to FRC teams this year—I doubt they'll be back in 2014.

It seems strange to think of FRC as a real, functioning market, but IFI's newfound strength is certainly going to make 2013 an interesting year from an economic point of view.

One more thing to consider: there's the prospect of a new control system platform in the future, and I don't doubt that IFI wants to supply it. Will they be in a position of such strength in a year's time that they'll have cornered the market on both controls and mechanical hardware in FRC? Wouldn't that be a satisfying resolution to their ouster from FVC and the loss of the FRC control system contract a few years ago?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Ball shifts are cool. No planetary above 1: 100, we still need Banebots. The #25 spocket's look nice. More choices are all ways nice.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Elegant, functional designs, incredible prices. Going to have IFI on speed dial.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

can anyone tell me why ifi/vexpro discontinued the non FIRST legal 883/885 esc's?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

The versaplanetary gear ratio possibilities are almost endless. The ring gear stages can be stacked indefinitely if you can find long enough assembly screws. We decided to supply only the hardware for up to 2 stages, but I had a 3 stage 250:1 in my hand today.

We will be publishing a recommended usage chart for motor and gearbox configurations in the coming weeks. We want to make sure our users know the limits of high ratio gearboxes.

AlexH,

They are not discontinued. They are an exclusive product for our reseller, robot marketplace. You can get them there.


Paul

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

not to seem like an idiot but does this shift between a low and high gear. because looking at the cad model i can't see how. Also how does ball shifting/braking work. thank

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

IFI has done an awesome job here. Thankfully these came out just in time as we are discussing part options and what to order with the kit funds today. The discussion will be much more interesting now!

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Can someone from IFI please verify where the components of the major new products were produced - especially the mechanical hardware?

I believe AndyMark uses quite a few U.S. suppliers for the components of their flagship mechanical hardware. Whether borne out of necessity or an intentional desire to promote American-made content, it is a partnership I can appreciate.

I am also not opposed at all to purchasing products with a higher percentage of foreign-sourced content if the quality is there (and it seems like it should be there with the new VEXpro stuff - looking forward to trying out the VersaPlanetaries). I'm sure many teams will find the low costs very attractive.

Before I would personally consider any of the new VEXpro drivetrain products for competition bot usage, I would like to see the new gearboxes and VersaWheel/Hub system used and abused under extended competition conditions (i.e. let other teams be the guinea pigs for one season and report their experiences with the products :D).


I look forward to seeing how Andy and Co. positively respond to this new competitive challenge. Given how hard they've worked in fairly short order to build their company up from two guys with an idea to the outstanding FRC supplier they are today, I have every confidence they will do so, to their customers' benefit.

The team assembled at IFI is impressive, and it knows how to leverage IFI's ample resources in an efficient manner. However, I also appreciate the "grassroots" efforts of the folks at AndyMark who started out small (and still are? I wonder how many employees they staff even today) and who assumed great risk in pioneering the introduction of affordable off the shelf mechanical components, opening up a new world to teams who previously had no way to fabricate such things themselves. AndyMark achieving what they do with the resources they have at their disposal is a testament to their work ethic and their dedication to the FRC community. These are qualities that will serve them well in responding to this new marketplace challenge.

That sounds somewhat dubious, like a small business dealing with the new Walmart in town. Can you elaborate further on what you mean by "join them"?


Some have had more success with their products than others. I am thankful for what they've done with their P60 and P80 products over the years, but it is great to see a functional equivalent enter the marketplace to drive improvements in designs and customer service. I hope Banebots uses the challenge to improve on the weaknesses many have lamented in the past. However, if they ultimately are "done", I thank them for providing a low-cost product no one else did at the time - one that has been very kind to my team over the years.

Is "cornering the market" and becoming an FRC "mega-supplier" IFI's goal? If that is "satisfying" to the IFI folks, that's one thing, but I don't work for them. My question is, would such a scenario be the one most beneficial for FRC teams if that were ever to happen?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I think we before we start counting out these companies, we must remember that a number of items from the KOP will come from AM and Banebots. Now, while for teams that don't keep up with the inner happenings of FIRST, this doesn't mean much, but for teams that don't keep up will be inclined to simply go off the KOP's recommendations of where to get more product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ng4OWilUY's a small video detailing just the basic core of the transmission. It isn't very good, but it gets the main idea across.

- Sunny G.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

The transmission does not lock. The kind of transmission is called a Ball Lock Transmission.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Outstanding work, IFI! I haven't been this excited about spending money in a LONG time. This opens up many new possibilities for many teams.

Question: What kind of load capacities do the various wheels have (especially the Versawheels and Mecanum wheels)?

Thanks!

Kev

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Courtesy of our friends on FRC222: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ng4OWilUY

-Brando

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Just ordered a couple of things to play with. Any idea when you expect the new stuff to start shipping?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Just the great selection of gears alone is a major addition to a designers toolkit. 84t 1/2" hex!

BTW anyone notice the part numbers start with 217 :)

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I think you guys really hit this one out of the park. Great looking products at prices that are hard to believe.

I really like the VersaHub. This will make our setup so much simpler.

The proof will be in how the products hold up during the season, but if they prove to be reliable, this really raises the bar. I'm ready to jump in with both feet and find out.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Just curious...how many teams besides 987 were making and using their own ball lock transmissions. It's obvious there will be a whole lot more being used out there now!

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Currently not many. It is much harder to fabricate, especially because most of the teams that build custom transmissions use COTS parts from andymark. However, before the invention of andymark, there were many other teams that used call lock transmissions.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

222 is the only other one that I know of. They have been doing it for a number of years as well (at least as far back as 2004).

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

This will be extremely useful for a novice like me. Thank you guys for putting so much effort into this product line.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

It will be very interesting to see if IFI can keep up with demand. Often times, initial roll out volume of new products is done in a conservative manner in order to test demand level before production is ramped up. No business wants to get stuck with 1000's of unsold "widgets"...which I know won't happen in this case. I am curious what the product pipeline duration is for stock replacement of sold items like the ball shifter.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

These gearboxes look really really really really nice.

I think I'll be spreadsheeting and CAD'ing a lot soon (after finals of course).


Also, it appears that the VEXpro ARM9's link is now gone from the VEXpro section of the site, and isn't liked to from anywhere else on the main site.

Still very impressed with the weight. Very impressed.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I asked this and was told they will have a very large inventory.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

There any sort of ETA on parts besides "Ships before Kickoff"? Because if it can ship soon then we might just buy some stuff from VEXPro.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I expect VexPro will be delivering on their promises. IFI has not let me down yet and I don't think Paul will allow that trend to change now. He is probably kicking rear-ends to keep things on schedule, even as we discuss this.

I ordered a pile of stuff this morning that Ships Before Kickoff.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Officailly excited now.

I can not wait to play with these.

Kudos IFI.

- Andrew

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Is that the ETA it gave on when they'll arrive? If so then that means we'll have to buy some parts from AndyMark.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

And I had just finished putting together my pre-season orders. Back to the drawing board. :rolleyes:

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I'm stunned at how good this stuff looks and how good the prices are.

While this puts price pressure on AndyMark, they will figure out how to thrive along with another big fish. AndyMark still has some important competitive advantages. And some great values, like this one.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I want to thank everyone for their very kind words, and excitement regarding this launch. Everyone here at IFI is extremely proud of this new line, and the work our team has put into it.

Please bear with us as we work to answer your questions and get more information out there about these new items.

Believe it or not... launching 120+ new items is an iterative process. :)

If you have anything you'd like to know, please post in this thread or send an email to support@vexrobotics.com.

-John

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

The different time period for Canada is a one time situation, to ensure that we're able to move our bulk shipment of inventory across the border in time. After kickoff, VEXpro orders placed in Canada before 3:00 pm eastern, will typically ship same day. If you're in Ontario, this usually means you'll be getting your products the day after you order. For teams local to the GTA, we offer same day pickup service at our office between 9:00 and 4:30 pm, all for a low flat rate of $5.00. We'll also have some products on display so you can take a look at them in person.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Wow the VEXpro product line looks awesome, cant wait to get my hands on the VEXpro Ball Shifters. Im very intrested on the new transmissions, The cost is awesome and so is the saved weight

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Can't wait to design with them, but tbh we're a bit too cynical on my team to throw everything we've done already away and start with 100% new products across the board. I dunno how a ball-lock transmission even works, for example. (Admittedly, I haven't explored everything on the site yet).

I love the alternative planetary gearboxes. If only someone would make a FRC-legal motor to go along with them...

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Hi Jared,
1. You can mount in a few different ways. The simplest way is to attach the (included) mounting angle to the 3rd-stage face plate using two of its mounting screws. Alternately, one could face-mount this transmission using those same screws. I personally expect many teams will eliminate the output plate entirely, and just integrate that pattern into their drive train. We spent a lot of time talking about how to mount our gearboxes, and believe we've come up with a very versatile solution which should serve inexperienced teams, and also veterans. Our intent is to provide more in-application examples as we build towards kickoff.

2. We will post full CoF data for all wheels and tread in the coming weeks. Our team is redoing all our testing with the final production wheels (using the tilt-test) to ensure we provide the right data to our customers. Everything is in the ranges you'd expect, we know traction is important...

3. On the ball shifter: the encoders turn at 3x the speed of the output shaft using our stock (included) mounting method. On the single-speed, double-reduction the encoders spin at the same speed as the output shaft.

4. Unfortunately no, the VersaKey pattern is not consistently aligned with the hex broaches. Though this was our original intent, it proved cost-prohibitive to achieve.

-John

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Hi Kevin,
It is tough to provide a load capacity on something like a wheel. I can tell you that these were designed with FRC applications in mind. They're built to be tough, and survive even the worst of what FRC teams will throw at them.

They're not built to be used as an all-terrain wheel-chair or something... they might work for that, but that isn't their designed usage.

Does that kind of answer your question? Is there a specific value you're interested in?

-John

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

John
i was going to order some Jaguars and had them in my cart but when I signed in they were gone and I can't find them on the site..
What happened? Can I still order these before Kickoff?
thanks

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

It strikes me that the pictures on the vexpro site are (very nice) CAD renderings. What testing, destructive or non, has been done on the physical products? What loads can they support?
I realize Paul alluded that data for the gearboxes will be forthcoming; what about the wheels?

Edit: I missed Kevin's post and just saw JVN's response. So the answer is "it'll be good enough, don't worry about it" ?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Personally I would like to know the toque ratings for the VersaPlanetary gearboxes, for example banebots rates the p60s at 35 ft-lb.

Looks like some great products, can't wait to see how they work out in the field.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

A more accurate summary might be: "Wheel 'rating' is a difficult thing to quantify (in my mind, at least) what numbers would you like to know?"

More easy to quantify numbers (like VersaPlanetary torque ratings and usage recommendations) will be made available before kickoff.

-John

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Hi Bob,

You should be able to find the Jaguars on the Motors & Controllers page - http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro/motor-controllers

Their direct page is: http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro/mo.../217-3367.html

These are available for pre-order right now and will Ship Before Kickoff.

If you have further issues please let us know.

Thanks,
Ricky

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

It'd be really awesome to get a rough layout drawing in .pdf in each part, similar to what AndyMark and other vendors do. It's a pain to download the .step to check a basic dimension.

I like to think we have one of the best custom 2-speed shifter designs, but we're choosing to put that on the shelf and run the ball shifter most likely. Time is so valuable, and for that price it's awesome.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Vex,

After looking at the Ball Shifter STEP file, it looks like the output shaft can be easily exchanged with any custom length 1/2" Hex shaft. However, I can not tell how the 1/2" Hex Output Shaft is retained in the assembly.

Can you please explain how it is retained or what I am missing?

Thanks and I love the subtle features of the products.
-Clinton-

PS. Do the Gears have the sizes laser engraved on each part, similar to the Sprockets?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I know that feel.

- Sunny G.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I think load capacity and CoF data would be reasonable for FRC applications.
I'm confused why they would be hard to quantify - other wheel manufacturers I've researched readily display that data.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

The wheels are probably a more homogeneous design, solid web, no spokes, etc...

Also, they probably are pulling their rating from testing, not from calculations. I'd wager most ratings you see are very conservatively low as well.

Even if you pull a true strength from testing this rating also has to factor in the uninformed user, if a wheel is rated to hold 100 lbs and that's what it sees when the robot is sitting on it, it will break on any sort of impact or drop due to that increased loading. I bet when you buy a colson wheel rated for 100 lbs, it's probably capable of handling spikes to 500+ lbs.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

The more I revisit the VexPro website the more I'm impressed. Your prices just seem unreal compared to other sources. Just bearing, sprockets and gears alone cost almost half the price...... 1/2" hex stock is only $8 :ahh: You guys really set the bar high on this one!!! :D

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Agreed with Adam's .pdf request.

Any plans on having 1/2" round (keyed) output shafts on any of the gearboxes in the future? Many teams already have plenty of stock material for 1/2" keyed shaft, so not having to purchase a bunch of hex broached material would be preferable.

Any plans for Versa wheels in sizes other than 4"?

As for "wheel ratings," what about the following?
How much force does it take to separate the tread from the versa wheel rim?
How much shear force can the spokes in each wheel handle before failing?

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Yes, the PDV Bundle with details on the VEX/IFI PDV for 2013 is active here: http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro/all/pdv-group.html

PDV items will begin shipping next week, but if you add VEXpro items to your order that have extended lead time the order will be held until it is all available.

While many of the component parts are sourced from China, VEXpro products are designed, assembled and tested in the USA.

The Teflon infused ceramic coating for VEXpro Gears is applied in the USA.

The debate surrounding globalized manufacturing aside; IFI is a small-town company started by two former FRC mentors (Tony Norman & Bob Mimlitch) which now employs over 130 people here in Greenville, TX.

As Tony, Bob and others mentioned in the video – we would not have taken on the VEXpro project without ensuring that we could provide affordable, quality, affordable options to the entire FRC Community.

IFI has been a proud supporter of FRC for more than 14 years as an official supplier and team sponsor – our main goal has been and always will be to support the teams.

Victors and Jaguars will start shipping next week.

All other items will ship as soon as they are available. We are receiving stock almost everyday and going through our final assembly, testing and logistics processes as quickly as we can.

We will ship all orders complete, so if there is an item on your order that is not available yet it will be held until we can ship complete. VEX and VEXpro Items can be ordered on the same order, but we recommend keeping them separate if you need your VEX items quickly.

As mentioned above, orders received before December 21st in the US and the 14th in Canada are guaranteed to ship before kickoff. As we approach the Holidays, we will watch Shipping Addresses carefully and make sure we are not shipping out an order to a school that will be closed.

As a note, VEX and IFI will be closed from December 25-January 1, Web orders can still be placed, but any POs placed will not be processed until we reopen.

After the New Year, teams can expect all VEXpro Products to be marked In Stock and fall under standard VEX/IFI shipping policies, where we ship the same day on In Stock products for orders received before 3pm Central time. Orders ship via your selected UPS method from Greenville, TX.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

CoF data -- for sure, it is on the way pending testing of the final production run. (I don't want to post any of our data from engineering samples or prototypes).

Load capacity-- We will find that number for you.
I'm sorry for confusing the issue. Of course maximum standard loading is easy to quantify. However, I've never seen a wheel fail due to standard loading, the only wheel failures I've ever seen result from impact loading (smashing a wheel off a bump or something). Those are tests we are also doing, which are significantly harder to quantify in a meaningful way.

-John

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I'm really liking this ball shifter! To answer JB987's question, I know 114 made a ball lock in 06, but they're pretty rare general due to the machining tolerances required to work efficiently. I'm really curious to see how these perform, 971 is eyeing them to further compact out transmission.

John, are there any plans to provide an adapter for gates belt pulleys to the versahub system? I could see that being a very popular addition.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Hi Clinton,
1. The 1/2" Hex Output shaft is a press-fit into the larger part of the ball shaft (217-2790-003). It isn't "easily exchanged" for any other length of Hex, but this might be possible for more advanced users (I haven't personally tried it, so I don't want to be misrepresent how easy it is).

2. No, the gears do not have the sizes etched into them.

-John

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

All the part numbers start with 217. Nice Easter egg Paul. The jag number is 217-33-67, and the 393 motor is 2177. Looking in the archives for 3633...

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I am sorry Ricky but when I click on the direct page I get a 404 page not found and when I click on the motors and controllers section the Jaguar is not there... what could I be doing wrong?

thanks I really would like to get some jags ordered...

R

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

I am interested in the weight of the Ball shifter in it's different configurations. The website listed the weight at 2.5 lbs. Is that the 2 stage version with the mounting bracket? How much does it weigh when you add the third stage?

Thanks

Allison

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Both links work for me.

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Try clearing your cache in your web browser's options, Bob, the old (not working) state of the page might be saved to facilitate faster loading. :p

Re: VEX Robotics Relaunches VEXpro Product Line with over 120 New & Improved Products
 

Bob,

I sent you a PM. My inkling is that your Country Selector at the top right of the site is not on the US.

Ricky