[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Hunter

The drill motors and planetaries don't fit properly in the plastic kit mounts until you romove the clutch housing anyway.

On this point you are incorrect. The provided mounts were designed for the drill motor and clutch assembly and they fit quite well when assembled properly. Perhaps you made the above conclusion when you may have unknowingly assembled the motor/gearbox/clutch into the mount improperly. Many teams including top-level contenders such as 258 and 60 have used the drill motors as they come in the mounts they come with.

Also, I believe that whitepaper only shows how to take the gearbox apart and makes recommendations about improving it. It does not show how to do the procedure you outlined about removing the clutch and running without it.


Now back on topic...
If you are having a problem with the clutch slipping, the answer might not be to remove the clutch. The motor is under a lot of load from somewhere and that load is being "slipped" at the clutch. If you remove the clutch the load will be transferred back through the geartrain and the motor. You should remove this excessive load making the clutches slip, not remove the clutches themselves.

What you are trying to do with this drivetrain seems exactly like the Team 716 2003 single speed gearbox design posted in the whitepapers on this site. Teams 696 and 980 also used this design with much sucess in the 2004 season. I would recommend gearing it for a maximum free speed of 7-11 feet per second depending on what kind of torque you want.