AM Super Shifters
 

who out there has bought one of the super shifters and what do you think

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

I can't account for the current super shifter, but the original design that we made last year worked very well! I think we plan on getting some of these this year however.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

Most teams probably haven't purchased theirs yet, since the game hasn't been released.

The Super Shifter is the latest revision in a long line of AndyMark transmissions. based on my personal experience with the Gen 2, and other AndyMark products, it will be high quality, extremely robust, and easy to work with. AndyMark is always striving to improve their products, and I can only imagine the Super Shifter is even better than previous iterations.

Team 254 has used AndyMark products on our robots since 2005, and will continue to do so if at all possible. They are a great value, and save teams a lot of work that's often better spent elsewhere.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

We ordered our super shifters about 2 weeks be for winter brake and they came in 2 days be for brake started. I took it a part, took it home, mounted one with the servo and rubbed it up and down. To put it frankly, its da bomb. Has a very good shift with the doggy gear and is also compact. The only problem is that its heavy, 11.5 pounds.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

I assume the 11.5 lb. measurement is with two 2.5" CIM motors? Even still sounds a bit heavy. The AndyMark website lists the Super Shifters at 4.6 lb. without motors, and iirc the CIM motors are a little over 2 lb. each. Meaning it should only total less than 9 lb., rather than eleven and a half! :confused:
Perhaps the weight I recall for the CIM motor is entirely incorrect, which is quite possible. If not, are you weighing anything else with the transmission?
Are you weighing two Super Shifters each with one CIM motor (and the CIMs being significantly lighter than I remember)?

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

I just re-weighed one and got the same result at 4.6 pounds for a Super Shifter (with no motor).

There are ways to reduce weight on this gearbox. One option is to purchase 4 spacers that would replace the black protective extrusion.

The black extrusion weighs 0.71 pounds. 4 of the 2" spacers weigh 0.11 pounds. 0.6 lbs could be saved with this swap.

Also, weight could be reduced from the gears. This would involve more machining time, and that would result in more cost and a higher price for these transmissions. We chose to leave the weight reduction efforts to our customers, and keeping our price as low as we can for this product.

As far as orders go, we have been consistently shipping out these gearboxes within a day or two of the order being placed.

Andy B.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

Took me a month to get the purchase order out due to school district red tape but then less than a week for AM to deliver. Likewise, we received them days before the winter break. That was enough time to lay hands on them and consider a design idea that has been floating in my head since seeing some of the west coast drive-trains posted here. What was a real help was the full CAD assembly on AM and a search for 8020 CAD on Google. The result is a full day of Inventor work in between eating Christmas dinner left-overs.
499 design All we need now is a machine shop to assist with milling these custom saddles as it will require a lot of material to be removed. I am assuming the best (only) means of attaching these to the frame is via the four through bolts on the transmission.:D

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

For those of us with visions of drive systems dancing in our heads, are there any products that seem inclined to a post-Kickoff crunch?

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

We have done our best to build up inventory for a post-Kickoff crunch. For this being our 4th year supplying parts to FRC teams, I feel that we've done a good job in forecasting sales and an even better job in fabricating and assembling parts for this yearly crunch. I'm confident that we will be able to ship orders out within 2-3 days of the order being placed, at the very latest. Of those 4 years, I feel that we are best prepared this year.

If we see a run on certain products that are beyond our forecasting, then I will communicate that issue on the product page of our website, and also gear up our fabricators so that our inventory stays ahead of the demand.

As for this Super Shifter, I am especially happy that we are able to offer various options for teams to do what they wish. From optional output ratios to 2 types of ratios between high and low gear, along with extended shafts and a solution to replace the black extrusion with spacers, I am happy to show that we have listened to customers and responded to most of their requests.

So... um... yeah, we're ready. Bring it on. :)

Andy B.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

We ordered one to do some pre season testing. It's a bit heavy, but it sits in a tiny package. As Andy stated, theres definitely ways to take out weight if its an issue, so that may be a moot point. We are about 99% sure we will be using them. For a tiny efficient gear box with the servo shifting and encoder built right in, I don't think you can beat the price.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

Is there (or will there be) an improvement to the SS Shifter that allows teams to mount sprockets inside the housing (similar to the GEN 2)? This would make it a more viable option for some designs.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

No, we do not have plans to offer this option.

Andy B.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

Back to the weight, that was measured with 2 cim motors on the gear box's. Andy, is there any plan for a 3 speed gear box? Also could you put out a inv file of your mecanum wheels? On your site there is just the right front and rear left.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

That is because they are the same thing. All of the CAD is on their website.

Re: AM Super Shifters
 

Well with mecanum wheels, they have to be angled like this: