Quote:
Originally Posted by Retired Starman
Unless the linear actuator has a LEGAL MOTOR installed, it cannot legally be used on your robot. You may install a LEGAL MOTOR on any gearbox, including linear actuators, but you can't in general, use an off-the-shelf linear actuator complete with the factory-installed motor. I've never seen one come with a FIRST approved motor.
It broke my heart to have to tell a team they couldn't use their linear actuators while I was inspecting them last year. They tried to install legal motors during the competition, but never found a motor combination that could be installed and was powerful enough to run their stacking mechanism.
I was thrilled to see AndyMark sell a linear actuator that could take a legal motor, only to see my hopes for such a product dashed by AndyMark's inability meet the demand.
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Perhaps FIRST is a bit too tightly wound about motors?
I buy the motor controller constraints on the safety argument (we are sure we can kill these in X mS). Why the obsession with the rotating thingy the controller drives?
TJ