Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Johnson
What is the benefit of these motors? Yes, they are free in that they come in the kit but when it comes to value for a FIRST Team, I recommend Banebot 775 with a Versaplanetary with a 1/2" hex output. The Banebot provides up to 270W of Mechanical Power. The Versaplanetary's hex output shaft is SO easy to use. It also lets you be "wrong late" in that you can discover that you need more or less ratio and just swap out gearsets to achieve your goal*.
Yes, the Throttle Motors are a little lighter but I just don't see any reason** to use them when there are so many better solutions available.
Dr. Joe J.
*Case in Point: After Week 1, Overclocked decided our lift was too slow. We had a 120:1 ratio in Nashua. Last night we used 10 minutes of our unbag time to go to 48:1 and bang zoom! we'll be stacking 50% more totes in Week 2 with a faster lift. We have 14 Banebot motors on our robot this year. 11 of them are connected to Versaplanetaries (the other 3 are driving our Wild Swerve modules via CIM-iles).
**I know that many teams are cost sensitive, but honestly, it is a false economy not to spend money on motors and gearboxes. Teams would be wells served to find the money to make their motor/gearbox solutions robust. FIRST is not a cheap activity. In the total scheme of things, having powerful, robust drive solutions (drive meaning more than just wheels) is the right place to spend your robotic dollars.
P.S. I have no financial interest in any of the products I have discussed. JJ
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Not everything needs as much power as a 775. Granted this season motors other than CIMS are unlimited but I don't know how long that will last. In some ways I liked the restrictions on each style of motor because it increases the challenge since you need to choose which applications require the greater power motors and which applications can be done with the lower power motors. On the other hand I do like that you can essentially standardize on one style/model of motor for everything that you are not using a CIM for.
I am a big fan of the Versa Planetary and the quickness with which you can change the ratio, the choice of motor, or even double up on the motor with the new dual input. So the ultimate to me would be a kit to mount the throttle motor to the Versa Planetary or another planetary that had the ability to swap ratios and add reduction stages like the Versa Planetary. I also prefer the 1/2" hex output version of the Versa Planetary.
All that said teams have at least 8 of the throttle motors and for some with tight budgets a reasonable cost COTS solution to actually use them would be very welcome.