Dewalt gearboxes?

[Alex.q]

My team has not made a shifting drivetrain before so I was wondering if someone could give me some advice. I recently found some old dewalt gearboxes in our team's cabinets. I know there was a white paper on how to modify them for shifting, but I haven't seen anyone use the gearboxes in any of the years that I have been involved in FIRST (starting 2008-09). I was wondering if there is a reason nobody uses dewalts anymore. Is there a hidden flaw, or are the shifters from Andymark just cheaper/lighter/better?

If there are any other things we should keep in mind while designing a shifting drivetrain, please let me know. Thank you.