Buying a gearbox is usually cheaper, quicker, and performs as well or better then building your own. GRT has probably designed and built more drive gearbox's then almost any team in FIRST. We like the engineering design and build project for the students. The students have to figure what gears to use and design the shafts and the shifting. They have to design a new gear box and not just side plates to use with someone else's gearbox. Not using some else's gearbox parts meant when our custom shafts, 8 of them, broke in 2008 we almost quit running after the 3rd match. We finished the regional with our last 2 shafts on half power. Buying gearbox's is probably the smart way for competing in FIRST but we are building a really neat gearbox for this year.
