The gears that come in the kit
 

does anyone know about how efficient the right-angle gears are that come in the kit?

Last I heard that the type of gears in the kit were 70 - 85% efficent if lined up perfectly. On that note the gear boxes are plastics, can you say fragile?

that plastic is pretty #%#%#%#% strong . . . I don't think any bots will wind up breaking it unless they run 3 motors through one of them at extremely high torques.

Which shouldn't be a problem . . . it seems speed/manuverability will be in this year . . if you can get up the ramp your fine.

of course, some bots will be high torque . . protect bots, attack bots . . . but not our bot!

I believe that design makes the gears tougher though. They have more surface area between the two gears. Might be wrong though. They look cooler though!

woooooooo hoooooooooooooo helical gears!!!


bad:yikes:

hey Free grears rock! and when there already made is another plus. They seem just as rugged or even more then i thought.

Not saying were using them though!

Free Gears are even better.:)

my team is thinking of using that gearbox, as it seems like the most simple design we could think of. Any suggestions on how effective they may be? should we scrap the idea because they will eat up the power?

Efficiency
 

There is no set "Efficiency" associated with these gears. The efficiency is really a system measurement. Systems that use helical gears are less efficient than systems that use spur gearing due primarily to the fact that helical gearing produces an axil force in addition to a tangential force and radial force produced by spur gearing. This axil force increases the friction between the gears themselves and is translated to the bearings that hold the axils in place. The bearings will experience a much higher axil load in a helical gear system than in a spur gear system.

It is important to know that the helical gears should be kept lubricated. Running these things with little or no lubrication means a dramatic drop in system efficiency. It's also important to know if the bearings that support the axils can withstand the significant side loads (axil forces) that are generated. Make sure that these bearings are also well lubricated.

Roughly, efficiencies for helical systems can typically run in the 50-70% range. Spur gear systems run in the 80-95% range.

Here's a good site for some data QTC Gears

Helical gear efficiency
 

The Boston Gear "Gear Catalog" states on p. 54 (p. 62 in the PDF) that helical gears with 90 degree shafts are approximately 50% efficient. This calalog may be found at http://www.bostongear.com/pdf/catalo...rs_catalog.pdf