Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

I haven't seen this asked (maybe I missed it), but does VexPro have an estimate on when their 1" x 2" rectangular tubing will be back in stock? It seems it went out of stock just as we went to order... :(

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

We ordered 3,000 and they sold out in 18 days.

Ironically, my Build Blitz team used 0 1/2" Hex Versahubs.

If you really want to use Versahubs, you have several choices:

1. Order the 1/2" round and use as is.

2. Order the 1/2" round and broach a hex

3. Order the 1/4" round, bore it out to 1/2" round, and broach a hex.

With the data from last year, I thought ordering almost 4x the qty would be more than enough. I guess I was wrong.

Paul

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

We are set to receive several hundred 1 x 2 tubes this week. We will put them back in stock when we are confident we can ship them same day.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

I would have projected a linear increase in sales from the previous three years. Instead of adding any more inventory for a buildblitz surge, I would have increased potential capacity through additional machine shops. I can imagine that the supply base agreements may have some exclusivity, but that could be made contingent on their capacity.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

It's worth noting that Vex and AndyMark parts have the same bolt hole pattern. While it lack the elegant integration of VersaHubs with other VexPro parts, AndyMark has 0.5" hex hubs as well.
http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-2568.htm
http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0096a.htm

They don't have three previous years of data. The VexPro line was started just before the 2013 build season.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

A lot of the products in the line up have been catering towards teams who just don't have the resources to machine similar parts. Wouldn't be surprised if some teams who used to make their own parts in the past haven't been looking at Vexpro saying "Why are we making these, let's buy them!"

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

You can't just pick a new machine shop overseas and have them instantly start producing good parts. That wouldn't work at all.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

I'm surprised to hear that only 800 hex hubs were sold last year. At the time, I saw the low price and just bought a bunch without having an immediate use for them (I don't think we put any on last year's robot). I think hubs are an important thing to have around for prototyping.

I have to believe that the VersaChassis and VersaBlocks are exploding the sales of 1/2" hex VersaHubs.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

It is actually a standard engineering practice to do a Make vs Buy analysis, based on resources (both hard and soft) to make this decision.

7-8 years ago when commercial parts were much less common my teams would design custom transmissions every year. Now that there are so many ratios and configurations available from numerous suppliers it does not make sense to design our own unless we need something very custom.

In fact a few years ago when I looked at prices of gear stock, bearings, and materials it was basically a wash on cost. The only difference is ordering them I could have them in 2 days vs 1 week making them ourselves.

That being said I am in full support of teams building their own parts if they have the resources (time, money and machines) as it is an absolutely essential skill for every engineer to get some hands on experience; you can't design parts if you don't understand the manufacturing process on how they will be made. Each team needs to make the call based on your individual resources and there is no one absolute answer.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

The strategy I envisioned would split the US into thirds, adding suppliers to each coast. However, you would definitely need to have trial runs at each new facility. The value analysis might not even make sense at the time, with all the unknowns. It certainly isn't surmountable to prepare for upticks in the market, and buildblitz (intentional or not) is a huge marketing promotion.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

A lot of the product is made in China.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

I definitely have too little information. It's a really neat problem to contemplate though and every business struggles with this problem. It's a good one to have and I doubt it will deter too many FRC teams from the VEX Pro line in the future.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

We have some stuff back-ordered from VexPro. Their staff is very open, responsive and helpful. These things happen - Vexpro products are suddenly hugely popular, beyond any reasonable forecast. It happens every day in "real" engineering efforts. One has to learn to change focus, re-order build priorities, inform your customers and weather the storm. It is unfortunate but a valuable lesson for FIRSTers to experience.

1296 will continue to be loyal Vexpro customers with every confidence Vexpro will improve the 2015 forecasting model with 2014 data.

Thanks Paul!

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

The explosion in popularity of VexPro is important to FRC in several ways that I can see.
1) It shows the vast improvement in quality of products. Vex observed and listened to teams and their needs, and their excellent products are the response.
2) It has already pushed other providers to make more quality products. AndyMark, while already the gold standard, has increased the quality and variety of their products in the last two years in big ways, and I'm guessing that at least part of that was in response to VexPro.
3) It illustrates the raising of the overall FRC experience at the team level. Many, many more teams (my own included) now know how to recognize great ideas and implement them on our bots.
4) It shows (along with the First Choice issue) that FRC is continuing to grow; maybe even leading the way as the BEST way to lead high school students into great future options. I know that I have consciously chosen this experience and rejected others, because FRC has the best bang for the buck that I've run across.

Most of us are in the same boat right now: waiting for parts. This may be anxiety producing, but it's not a new experience, and it's forcing us to adapt and be flexible. I will also continue to support VexPro, and will look forward to what they come up with in the coming year that advances the experience even more.

Re: VEXPro Out of Stock
 

When the http://www.vexrobotics.com/ site says "out of stock" or "Ships in 1 Week" is that only referring to the Texas warehouse or is that all of your distributors? If not it would sure be nice if you could place an order from that site and then pick which location it would ship from.