Battery Charging Station

[EricH]

Originally Posted by yash101

They are geared down quite a bit, so four of these window motors are quite some power! I can imagine a team using window motors for their drivetrain!

To speak for Billfred and FRC1293: Never again! (If I'm wrong, fellas, let me know...)

Devyash, I think you need to do some study of the spec sheets. Yes, the window motors have some power--but if you look, they're weak, with a capital "weak". Compared to the CIM especially. Looking at the FRC official specs, the Densos only put out 23W--at MAX power. The CIMs? 337W, or more than 10x the window motors. The only motor weaker than the Denso window motors is the other Denso motor (18W), or the VEX motors (4W).

You've been fooled by their non-backdriveability. The worm gears in their transmissions (which, IIRC, are ruled integral to the motor) keep them from going backwards when loaded. That said, having that sort of thing--with a proper clutch to allow the cart to move without power applied--does have its advantages (follow the link below).


Now, an anecdote to explain my earlier comment about "never again"... There WAS a team that used window motors in their drivetrain, about a decade ago.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/19905 for pictures and reason--original thread seems to have been deleted.