Quote:
Originally Posted by kramarczyk
It's not COTS until it is a component on your shelf.
During the course of my day job I occasionally run into components that exist in a catalog, but when we try to buy them we discover they don't actually exist. If I was willing to buy 1000 of them the company would pull out the tooling and make some, but they won't do it for the 3 I might need. Consequentially, I have to source and commit to COTS early or plan to go around. The Banebots situation is just an extension of the real world.
Stock Drive Products anyone? I notice that they have this 10 tooth and this 27 tooth which might be useful if they were about .7708 apart. It also seems that the 10 tooth has a bore just under 5mm. Hmmm...
|
Normally I would agree with you about buying your own gears and making your own gearboxes, but there are many many teams that don't have that capability, either in people, machining or sponsors. I hope this Banebot problem spurs people to get out and learn more about gears, motors, etc. I know we are planning on experimenting this fall.
But the fact remains that FIRST put out 4 Banebot motors while limiting the other motors. No pinion gears, no gearboxes. Most people are going to go to the Banebot web site and expect to order from there and expect to get their order in a reasonable amount of time.
The FIRST deadline is hard and fast. Learning how to design and build your first gearbox isn't something you want to do during the build season.