Preliminary Data:
Single Speed 12:64 Gearboxes with 30:50 VEXPro Gear post reduction
The didn't go together smoothly -- the 3/8" bearing wouldn't accept one side of the output shaft and the 1/2" hex bearing was too snug a fit for the other end of the shaft (started stripping the annodization off the hex corners). Used AM bearings in both cases to solve it. On the two VEXPro gears after the gear box, the annodization is wearing off fairly quickly -- possibly due to imperfect alignment, but the wear is even across the teeth. Will probably use the double reduction gearboxes next year, even though I liked the versatility of choosing custom gear ratios. Or we might use Gates or AM belts. Who knows. We really like all of the mounting options of this gearbox though.
22T Hex-bore Sprockets
We are using these in our drive train, geared for 12 ft/s. It's a typical 4WD WCD, with these sprockets transmitting power from front to rear in a 1:1 ratio. We've been hit hard twice, and both times had one of these sprockets eat itself a few seconds later while driving. It'd be nice if someone also offered a steel version that was hex broached. The first time we thought it was because the wheel block slid on the impact; the second time we verified that the block didn't move (so the chains were in proper tension the whole time).
Hex Shafts
We got the hex shaft stock, then sized them for our WCD drive train. Found that the shaft isn't perfectly straight nor an exact consistent diameter even over short runs, meaning that it doesn't "just work" with the hex broached VEXPro items. Sanding down the corners helped. Could have been a shipping / temperature thing. We have had the same issues with every hex shaft stock we've purchased. Imperfections were on about 50% of the shaft length, so about half of our shafts still have their nice annodized corners.
VersaPlanetary (Single Stage)
Used with BB-550 and AM-9015. Aggravated with the assembly. We're swapping a 550 out for a 775 to get a better PID responds on our tilt, so we'll see how the assembly works there. We also stripped a 9015 collet when a disc jammed early in the season, rendering the piece useless. We had a spare from the other transmission we got, which was a plus. I do like the interchangeable gears.
Versahubs
It's nice that the bolt pattern remains the same. It's kinda funny -- we have this hub and an AM hub on the shooter wheel since that was the best spacing configuration
. Very nice for quick prototyping overall. We enlarged the holes for a #10 bolt since those are the smallest bolts we have in enough variety of sizes to do the prototypes.
Generally a mixed bag. May have more to say after Chesapeake & Champs.