We made a
6 motor drive system with
two speeds. I believe 188 Woburn did something similar in years past but I believe we are the only ones in the country with a 6 motor two speed this year. It's shifting mechanism is based roughly on the 2003 Technokats design. Everything has been beefed up (1/2" wide gears, 5/8" hex shaft, 1/4" sideplates) for the power of six motors. We could have gotten away with making it lighter and a little smaller but since this was our first year doing 6 motors or shifting, we decided to not take any chances. Since this worked with no problems whatsoever, we will be going smaller and lighter next year.
One nice thing is that al the reduction is done in the box to directly drive a 5.5 inch wheel. This is nice so you don't have to have the little sprocket - big sprocket thing going on.
Unfortunately, the way this year's game turned out to be played was quite different from what we imagined. We never really got to exhibit the drivetrain's full potential. But maybe that's just because the threat of it made opponents run away.
In a game like 2002's Zone Zeal or 2003's stack attack, this gearbox would have been totally awesome.
While it was cool to have potentially the most powerful drive system in the nation, next year two of those 6 motors will probably be put to better use into an arm or ball scooper or something.
And just as a final note, having 6 motors is advantageous if your drivers can use them. We are geared for 15.5 fps (no load) in high gear and can still push a robot sideways (in high gear) without tripping any breakers.