[Thad House]

Our robot was essentially a VexPro demo bot. We used the clamping gearboxes, 4 inch mecanums, gears, VPs, hubs, linear elevator kit, and most importantly ThunderHex.

ThunderHex was probably one of the most impressive things I have seen in FRC in a long time. Bearing slop was a thing of the past. Our practice bot used standard hex on the drive, and our comp bot use ThunderHex. The drive on the comp bot was so much smoother it was incredible. We will be using it for years and years to come, especially since it is cheaper then regular hex from Vex.

The 4 inch mecanums were great. We only had 1 break on the practice bot, and it was broken on arrival. I loved them, but I hope we don't have to use them again (I miss my WCD). But if we do, I trust them, and they were very reliable.

The Linear Elevator Kit was great, at least for the plates. We had issues with the 1/2" OD bearings falling apart, so we had to space out our shuttle a bit more, and go to larger bearings for them. But otherwise they were amazing, and very reliable. No problems at all.

The CIM mounts for the VPs were amazing. We used 1 for our Arm, and 1 for our Lift and they both were solid. Figuring out the best way to cut the CIM shaft took a bit of time, but it wasn't too bad.

All in All, I don't think we had a single problem with any Vex parts this season.

If I was going to make a suggestion, The Ball Shifters could use some improvements. I would love to see a ball shifter designed from the start for WCD, maybe even using the WCP style plates. I love the ball shifter idea, but with how weird the mount is, how much space they take up lengthwise, and cantilevering the gearboxes that far is rough, at least in my eyes.