pic: 226 Off-Season Gearbox
 

Re: pic: 226 Off-Season Gearbox
 

Seems like the first I ask of question of any picture disussion is "how much does it weigh?" Also, what is the thickness on those plates. Did you waterjet the bearing holes, or were they machined? Also, what are the output speeds?

Re: pic: 226 Off-Season Gearbox
 

Looks good!

Re: pic: 226 Off-Season Gearbox
 

How much does it weigh? Not really sure, it is waterjet cut from 1/4" 6061. The bearing holes were reamed after the waterjet to get them to the final tolerance, however the real version is laser cut an right on the money. The intent with the box above was to have the capability of the drill spinning the same direction in both gearbox (One side had an additional reversing gear as you can see from the bearing cutouts) then through the shifter and into a hex bore. The drive module then has a telescoping hex shaft that slides in. The encoder is mounted in the gearbox and picks up the output of the 60tooth gear on the output. A servo lays flat above the CIM motor and manipulates the paddle shift. The final version is lighter in the plates with the same weight in the gears (which are all lightened) Pics next week.

Re: pic: 226 Off-Season Gearbox
 

Nice work, are you sponsored by a laser cutting company?? Seems like you guys get a lot of that stuff done...

Re: pic: 226 Off-Season Gearbox
 

Actually we are sponsored by GM Conveyors, Controls, Robotics, and Welding but we have lotsa labs with lotsa neat equipment.

As for the prototype robot above it was all done at a local waterjet company - Copland Gibson at their full cost which was right around $400 for the first plate and about $250 for each additional (1st plate has a CAD fee) Water-jet cutting is an extremely good deal for FIRST teams, we couldn't have done it with a CNC mill it would have been too expensive.

As for getting lots of parts made, well that's just part of the business situation and rules we have to live by.