Chief Delphi - Which motor is better?

MOTOR SELECTION COMMENT

To: FIRST Committee

From: Martin Kanner

Subject: Comment on FIRST kit content

As possible assistance to rookie teams, let me first introduce myself. I’m an NYU graduate with a long experience base in electromechanical and electrical feedback control systems. I have now mentored for high schools for the past four years and am presently working with Plainview-Old Bethpage. I want to sincerely thank and congratulate the FIRST committee on the kit contents for their variety of content and their sophistication which gives the students the opportunity to learn and make high level technical decisions.

This year the kit provided larger CIM motors than those of last year and an adapter to be used to couple the motor into a gear box which was also in the kit. There were comments made, which I agree with, that the use of these items would result in approximately a 20% loss in performance (torque/speed).

I believe that providing the adapter for the larger motor was misleading to high school students and does not permit them to think and come up with a good application of the larger motor. I believe the larger motor, which runs at a lower speed but higher torque could have been used by eliminating the heavy gear box assembly and replacing it with an appropriately matched, pillar block gear reduction. The students could then design and test both approaches for their application and have the opportunity to make a good decision.

I do not want the comment to be taken out of perspective. This is one small item in a kit which has unbelievable content and opens vistas in all directions for students at all levels.