Fantasy Product's-what u wish was made

[DampRobot]

Originally Posted by EricH

You know... Y'all are learning engineering. I'm aware that AM at least will take design ideas from teams (they've done it in the past).

So... You want something to be a COTS offering, how about you make a prototype, do a bit of market research, and see about making a deal with the appropriate company?

Just a thought.

I've talked with some people that did this and actually got their product to market. I know that they learned an absolute ton, and enjoyed the experience of developing the product, but from a financial perspective really got screwed over by the company they were working with. It sounded like a learning experience, both in design and business skills.

To people commenting on this thread, if you really want something, go ahead and design a product that's suitable for mass mfg (injection molding, extrusion, minimum mill passes, etc), estimate how much it might cost, and see if there's any money to be made. If there is, draw up a solid business plan (why teams need it, how much it will cost, how much investment it will take, how much money there is to be made, etc), and talk to people. If it really will make them money, businesses will sometimes listen.

[Monochron]

Originally Posted by Pault

Step 1: Drill a 1/4in hole 3/4in deep into the center of the output shaft

Step 2: Use a hacksaw to cut down the center of the shaft to the same depth as the hole.

Step 3: Assemble VersaPlanetary and mount onto robot.

Step 3: Put a 1/2in hex shaft collar around the end of the shaft.

Step 4: Cut a piece of thin polycarb and drill a 3/8in hole near one end.

Step 5: Use a nut to screw an incremental encoder, absolute encoder, single turn potentiometer*, or 10 turn potentiometer into the hole in the polycarb.

Step 6: Insert shaft of sensor into hole in the output shaft.

Step 7: Tighten shaft collar.

Step 8: Attach the loose end of the polycarb to any nearby piece of the robot.

Step 1: Assemble VersaPlanetary with "VersaEncoder Stage" and mount on robot.

Done.



This also has the benefit of not requiring a male style encoder as in your method. The downside is, I imagine you would be stuck with whatever kind of encoder Vex wanted to use.

[Everett33]

Originally Posted by marshall

Can you provide pictures for this?

Personally, I'd rather see more integrated options made available to teams than us using the same old hacks to make our existing solutions work. Yes, they work, but they aren't pretty. I think I have a good idea of what you are describing and the encoder/sensor being exposed is still the biggest problem for longevity (read: durability).

Here is a photo of a very clean example of mounting an encoder in this manner. You are basically using the end of the shaft as a collet. Very ingenious and easy to do with the simplest of tools.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joseph...7649689515713/

- Everett

[nuclearnerd]

Here's a new one: Hardware to make 1" tube an FRC "standard" for drive shafts.

Currently 1/2" hex bar is very popular for torque carrying shafts because it's common to many FRC parts. Unfortunately, you quickly find that 1/2" 7075 aluminum is pretty flimsy if you overhang the load by more than an inch or so, or if the angle of twist is important. A 1" OD x 1/16" wall aluminum tube is easy to source, about the same weight as 1/2" hex, 2.5 times as stiff in bending and torsion, fits through a 1.125" bore wheel*. Thicker tube can be used for even higher stiffness and strength. There are also plenty of lightweight pillowblock bearings available for 1" shafts.

If someone made a two piece hub that clamped tightly enough on a 1" tube to transfer torque, and had a 1/2" hex bore and/or a versahub/AM bolt pattern, it would enable teams to use 1" tubes for drive shafts where the loads would twist 1/2" hex bar (dual chain lifts, four bar linkages, roller intakes etc).

...and go.

*Vex Wheels anyway. AM HiGrip wheels are actually 0.96" bore at their smallest, so they wouldn't work on the shaft without modification

[marshall]

Originally Posted by nuclearnerd

Here's a new one: Hardware to make 1" tube an FRC "standard" for drive shafts.

Currently 1/2" hex bar is very popular for torque carrying shafts because it's common to many FRC parts. Unfortunately, you quickly find that 1/2" 7075 aluminum is pretty flimsy if you overhang the load by more than an inch or so, or if the angle of twist is important. A 1" OD x 1/16" wall aluminum tube is easy to source, about the same weight as 1/2" hex, 2.5 times as stiff in bending and torsion, fits through a 1.125" bore wheel*. Thicker tube can be used for even higher stiffness and strength. There are also plenty of lightweight pillowblock bearings available for 1" shafts.

If someone made a two piece hub that clamped tightly enough on a 1" tube to transfer torque, and had a 1/2" hex bore and/or a versahub/AM bolt pattern, it would enable teams to use 1" tubes for drive shafts where the loads would twist 1/2" hex bar (dual chain lifts, four bar linkages, roller intakes etc).

...and go.

*Vex Wheels anyway. AM HiGrip wheels are actually 0.96" bore at their smallest, so they wouldn't work on the shaft without modification

As a team that does absolutely terrible things to gearboxes and output shafts with overhung loags, we would totally buy these and likely in large quantities.

[Lil' Lavery]

The same thing I've answered on surveys the past couple years: cycloidal gearboxes. Would be the biggest game changer in FRC design since COTS planetaries became common.

Also, more support for keyed round shaft. The constant shortage of hex bearings and not having a hex broach can be quite a pain. We do just fine with keyed shaft, but more and more new products come with hex output shafts.

[thatprogrammer]

1. A thunderhex with a standarized hub size, as well as bearings with proper mounting plates.

2. A gearbox with a modular case of some sort.

3. A special versaframe optimized for belt or chain in tube drive systems.

[Munchskull]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

I've talked with some people that did this and actually got their product to market. I know that they learned an absolute ton, and enjoyed the experience of developing the product, but from a financial perspective really got screwed over by the company they were working with. It sounded like a learning experience, both in design and business skills.

To people commenting on this thread, if you really want something, go ahead and design a product that's suitable for mass mfg (injection molding, extrusion, minimum mill passes, etc), estimate how much it might cost, and see if there's any money to be made. If there is, draw up a solid business plan (why teams need it, how much it will cost, how much investment it will take, how much money there is to be made, etc), and talk to people. If it really will make them money, businesses will sometimes listen.

I know that my team actually did develop a product that we would he loved to market how ever we got stuck in case manufacturering. Now that we have cnc we can finally look in to reviving the project.

It was something we called a supertester. An electrical testing device we designed. I know we sold one kit in the past to 971.