Re: Andymark.biz
 

The AndyMark.biz website has been updated. While the AM Shifter, AM Planetary gearbox , and Trick Wheels have lower prices, new products are now available.

The AM Gearbox is a single-speed gearbox, priced low.

The CIM Planetary gearbox is a compact unit giving 181:1 reduction.

New, 6" and 8" diameter Omni-Wheels are available in late November. These wheels are less expensive, lighter, and smoother rolling than our Trick Wheels.

Traction Wheels are available, with replaceable treads.

A Mode Selector & Stop Switch is also ready for teams who want an easy way to select their robot drive mode and quickly disable their robot during operation (used during debug and non-competition driving).

Also, we have many robot parts including 35 series Aluminum sprockets, gears, flanged bearings, 2mm key stock, and other spare parts.

For questions regarding these products, email me at andyb"at"andymark.biz.

We are looking forward to another fun year in FIRST.

Andy Baker
Mark Koors

Re: Andymark.biz
 

Very exciting news. You have one broken image on the products page and a couple images flip-flopped on the AM Shifter page. You've done very well with the prices. I'm impressed by some of them. I absolutely love now being able to buy individual components like dog gears. Nice work!

Re: Andymark.biz
 

Awesomeness. Just plain awesomeness.

I like how you designed the dongle--a big area to hit for disabling is always a good thing, in my opinion. (For all the rookies who may be reading this thread, either get one of Andy's or build your own from the information in the IFI manual. You'll need one or the other.)

I'm also glad to see those traction wheels--they look to be quite nice. Any plans to ship them either with roughtop or naked?

Re: Andymark.biz
 

fantastic, i especially like the aluminum sprockets and traction wheels....

Re: Andymark.biz
 

those wheels are sweet, i got to be able to see them in person at the Battle Bots comp in Rochester. I'd buy a few to have for my next battle bot.(hint hint)

Re: Andymark.biz
 

On behalf of all rookie (and some veteran) teams out there, I must say, "Thank you Andy Baker and Mark Koors."

FIRST has been trying to "level the playing field" and "raise the bar" for a number of years, and things like the kit tranny and chassis show that goal.

AndyMark is another great way for rookie teams to have the possibilities to build a successful, competitive robot.

Thank you both very much.

:)

Re: Andymark.biz
 

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
:)

Re: Andymark.biz
 

Andy,

Thanks for your new products. I'm especially excited about the traction wheels. A couple of questions...

How might one convert your traction wheel to accommodate a 1/2" keyed shaft?

The wheels seem to be wider than one would think necessary. Is that for strength, or to keep the tread on?

What are the advantages of your single speed transmission over the kit transmission?

Re: Andymark.biz
 

1. A hub would need to be made, with these features:

• 1/2" hole & 1/8" keyway
• OD of 2.375" (or greater)
• 6 evenly spaced #10 clearance holes (.21), at 60 degrees from each other, on a 1.875" diameter bolt circle

We may provide this hub in the future, but we currently don't have it as a listed product.

2. Wheel widths vary as drivetrain designs vary. In FIRST, there are wide ranges of wheel designs. Some use wide wheels for more floor contact, while others use narrow wheels. This also depends on how teams wish to play the game. These Traction Wheels are a compromise between wide and narrow wheels. Also, they can easily be narrowed if a designer chooses.

3. The differences between the AM Gearbox and the Kit Transmission are as such:

• to buy either, the AM Gearbox is less expensive
• the AM Gearbox body is smaller than the Kit Transmission
• the output shaft of the AM Gearbox is 1/2" while the Kit Transmission is 16mm
• the Kit Transmission has the ability to be elegantly coupled with another Kit Transmission to create an increased reduction (for arm applications), while to do this with 2 AM Gearboxes requires some more design work
• the AM Gearbox is lighter and includes gears with narrower face widths

Thank you for the interest, Charlie.

Andy Baker

Re: Andymark.biz
 

With respect to the AM Gearbox -- when is it going to be available? :) I'll need two and they're priced significantly lower than the kit transmissions from IFI.

Also, how're we meant to mount them? I haven't looked yet at the plans for those gearboxes, but from the photos, I see no obvious mounting points.


[EDIT]

Okay, I've looked at the plans... 1 more question, then:

Why is it asymmetric in design?
[/EDIT]

Thanks.

Re: Andymark.biz
 

AndyMark

Great looking stuff. The traction wheels will be a huge time saver.

I'm a little curious about the CIM planetary though. 181:1 seems like a pretty huge reduction. ~ 25 rpm is pretty slow even for an arm. Would it be possible to remove one of the stages to reduce the amount of reduction in the planetary? If so, that would make this a very adaptable design, and definitely something worth looking into, especially since you can use a FP planetary and a CIM planetary in conjunction.

Re: Andymark.biz
 

Thanks for the feedback and question.

There are 4 stages of the CIM Planetary. 1 stage could be removed if the external (ring) gear was simply machined down to be shorter.

181:1 is a middle-of-the road reduction for a arm movement on a FIRST robot. 25rpm is almost 180 degrees rotation in 1 second. That is moving pretty quickly. Last year, on the TechnoKats robot, the arm reduction was 406:1. This arm could lift a tetra from the floor to above a goal in a bit over 2 seconds.

Regards,
Andy

Re: Andymark.biz
 

Just for reference--45's arm, or an arm using the planetary?

Re: Andymark.biz
 

the planetary would lift a tetra from the floor to the top of a goal in a little over a second.

another interesting fact about the planetary that Andy hasn't said is the amount of contact in each stage of the planetary. there is over 1 inch of planet to ring gear contact on each stage making it very unlikely to break. This is caused by using 5- 3/8 dia planet gears on each stage.(correct me if i am wrong Andy just trying to remember what you told me)

Re: Andymark.biz
 

Maddie, thanks for the questions.

1. Our AM Gearbox parts will be ready within 2-3 weeks.

2. The intent for mounting is to use the 4 holes in the corner of each side plate. These are clearance holes for 1/4-20 screws.

3. We wrestled over the asymmetrical design. The main reason is because there are some clearance advantages when this gearbox is mounted in certain types of drivetrains. This design makes it fit better into a 4-wheel Killough platform, and it also lowers the Cg in a 4wd or 6wd drivetrain. We found this configuration to be benefitial.

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Also... Greg's post is correct. Thanks, Greg.

Andy B.