Robot Speed Rules

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Marc S.

jalmos, I highly recommend that if your team is shooting for higher speeds then you definitely use a 2-speed gearbox. The super-shifter from AndyMark is a good choice.

Yes and no--this is generally a good idea in many standard drivetrains, but it is not something I'd advocate a team undertake with 12 days to ship day without a full appreciation of the issues.

This is JVN's mechanical design spreadsheet, which many teams have found exceptionally useful. Run your numbers and see where you stand--once you get much past 10 feet/second, you're requiring a bit more skill. (And mind that acceleration will be much more common this year thanks to the dividers and bridges; the faster you gear the robot, the more current you'll draw on each launch and while pushing. You're going to push.)

If you're using the kit drivetrain and you decide your speed is not what you want, I'd suggest changing your wheel sprockets (or output shaft sprocket, but double sprockets are harder to find). This is much easier than integrating all-new gearboxes, but it has the above-mentioned tradeoffs.