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Originally Posted by EricH
Why do you need gas springs or other means of balancing an arm other than its power source?
This is not an idle or ignorant question. I have seen multiple arms with no balancing (other than the power source) that did quite well. Single-joint, multi-joint, even with a large-ish mass at the far end like a game object.
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Just to bring something up... I have yet to see one of 330's single-joint arms use any sort of balancer that wasn't the drive motors. Neutral for some was all the way down; for others it was wherever the arm was left--one at least needed a little bit of power to maintain a position. Typical drive, 1-2 FP motors, stock gearbox, heavy reduction afterwards (exception: 2x Globe motors mounted on the arm itself--2004). No braking capability.
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I don't think there is any reason not to "balance" your arm in FRC. Why would you make your motors work harder then they have to? By making an arm close to neutral your improving the arm's loaded speed and consequently allowing it to take on a greater loads without slowing down. In theory, the only weight the motors should actually be lifting is from the game piece. While 330's single joint "stick with claw" arms weight much less than many others it doesn't weight nothing to the motors like it would with balancing.