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Unread 29-01-2006, 15:05
sanddrag sanddrag is offline
On to my 16th year in FRC
FRC #0696 (Circuit Breakers)
Team Role: Teacher
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Rookie Year: 2002
Location: Glendale, CA
Posts: 8,515
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Re: Andy Mark Planetary + side load

DO NOT SIDE LOAD THAT GEARBOX!!!! At all. Period. That gearbox is not built for any sort of side load whatsoever. Have an independent shaft for your mechanism and then link the two with a flex coupling of some sort.

Just yesterday, our AM planetary from last year got all bound up. It wouldn't even turn. We opened it up, cleaned it all out, and found there was a planet siezed on its pin. We pressed the pin out of the planet, reamed out the planet just a little, and reinstalled. We packed the gearbox full of white lithium grease and now it runs pretty good actually.

Couple of tips:
Run it in for a long time. A really long time. It's a bit crunchy when new.
Then, clean it out with engine bright or similar degreaser (avoid the bearings)
Then, pack it full of white lithium grease. (I mean lots, no empty space, all grease).
Also, make sure you use loctite on all the screws, especially the FP mounting screws.
Make sure you torque the backplate screws in a careful fashion (don't crank all the way down on one, then go to the next one). Torque them just a little bit at a time. Spin the output shaft by hand to make sure it still turns easily. If not, loosen the bolt you just tightened and try again, or try tightening a different backplate bolt.

At first, it is a bit tricky to get these things running smooth, but after a while, they'll wear in and be a bit better.

In any case, don't load that gearbox in any fashion other than axial torque. (that means no side loads and no thrust loads).
__________________
Teacher/Engineer/Machinist - Team 696 Circuit Breakers, 2011 - Present
Mentor/Engineer/Machinist, Team 968 RAWC, 2007-2010
Technical Mentor, Team 696 Circuit Breakers, 2005-2007
Student Mechanical Leader and Driver, Team 696 Circuit Breakers, 2002-2004

Last edited by sanddrag : 29-01-2006 at 15:08.