Reaching out for help regarding FIRST choice part

[Julian Gabriel]

Hello Chief Delphi and the FIRST community,

I'm reaching out to you today to try and get a bit of feed back on a part that Bosch donated last year.
http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/fc15-037
(picture below)

This part was put onto FIRST choice and was rather quickly sold out, meaning around 500 or so teams acquired the part. I was excited to see they all sold out, so when competition time came around I looked for teams that might have used it on their robot. Unfortunately I didn't find any in my local districts.

What I would like to hear form the community is whether this part is valuable or not, and what teams might have used it for. My biggest hope is to get a picture of a robot that has the part being utilized.

If those that came into possession of the motor and have anything to say or have a picture to give, I would love to hear some feed back.

Thank you for your time, it is greatly appreciated!

[DaveL]

I was one of the 500 that requested and received this part. My decision was based on the fact that we don't weld or machine parts. Building a screw drive is beyond our current abilities and this part should fill this need.

I can see us using this part to move a structure (like an arm) to a precise position or to multiple positions. It has the advantage over pneumatics in being able to move to multiple positions. However, my though process was that its speed of movement and load holding capabilities are likely to be less that of a pneumatic part. It would be helpful to have the load holding specification included in the part description or shared with us on CD.

When a specialty part like this is offered it would be great if its mating connector was also include with the part (or at least a connector ID number and a few sources for the connector).

Build Mentor

[Joe Reel]

Team #292 used this part on the 2015 robot. It was used to move the pickup device in and out to allow us to pick up the totes on the long and short sides. However, we did not use it as a lead screw it was like a reel that would pull a cord in and out. It was nice since it did not take up a lot of space and worked fine for what we needed.

[TogetherSword8]

888 was also one of the teams to acquire this part. We did not use it on our 2015 bot, we actually got it for an off season project where we have a remote controlled mini Model T that we drive around small kids (ages 2 and under) in. It was originally used at the wedding of a former team member (a one-year-old was the ring bearer), and now is used for entertaining the kids of our mentors. We use it for controlling the steering, and is very capable of performing this function.

[Julian Gabriel]

Originally Posted by DaveL

I was one of the 500 that requested and received this part. My decision was based on the fact that we don't weld or machine parts. Building a screw drive is beyond our current abilities and this part should fill this need.

I can see us using this part to move a structure (like an arm) to a precise position or to multiple positions. It has the advantage over pneumatics in being able to move to multiple positions. However, my though process was that its speed of movement and load holding capabilities are likely to be less that of a pneumatic part. It would be helpful to have the load holding specification included in the part description or shared with us on CD.

When a specialty part like this is offered it would be great if its mating connector was also include with the part (or at least a connector ID number and a few sources for the connector).

Build Mentor

Thank you for the input, I'm glad to see some feedback that we can consider as we move into the next season. This was one of our concerns and we will certainly discuss the topic.

Originally Posted by Joe Reel

Team #292 used this part on the 2015 robot. It was used to move the pickup device in and out to allow us to pick up the totes on the long and short sides. However, we did not use it as a lead screw it was like a reel that would pull a cord in and out. It was nice since it did not take up a lot of space and worked fine for what we needed.

Glad to see that you got some good use out of the part! Would you be all right in me using a picture of your robot to show to one of our associates and as a discussion point for following up on the program? I can pull a picture off of Google, but if you have one highlighting the part that to would be nice, though unnecessary if it is to much work.

Originally Posted by TogetherSword8

888 was also one of the teams to acquire this part. We did not use it on our 2015 bot, we actually got it for an off season project where we have a remote controlled mini Model T that we drive around small kids (ages 2 and under) in. It was originally used at the wedding of a former team member (a one-year-old was the ring bearer), and now is used for entertaining the kids of our mentors. We use it for controlling the steering, and is very capable of performing this function.

Wow! That sounds like a very cool project, I'm glad that it ended up of being some good use to you and your team (especially for the wedding!). Would you be able to send a picture of the car? I'm very interested in seeing how you incorporated the part into the project.

[Joe Reel]

I don't have a good picture of the part on the robot. Feel free to use any picture you can find of our robot.

[Julian Gabriel]

Originally Posted by Joe Reel

I don't have a good picture of the part on the robot. Feel free to use any picture you can find of our robot.

Thank for the go ahead. I appreciate the help in this endeavor.

[kprzewodek]

Originally Posted by DaveL

When a specialty part like this is offered it would be great if its mating connector was also include with the part (or at least a connector ID number and a few sources for the connector).

Build Mentor

Tried very hard to make that happen, however, received all the parts too late to include due to long lead times. Since the connector is the responsibility of the automotive OEM's we didn't have any pigtails or spare parts laying around other than smaller quantity for testing, etc. Although you can find the terminals through allied, the connector itself it a bit more difficult to come by. None of these parts were easy to obtain and few wire harness vendors want to deal with these relatively small orders.

I can post details on the connector and terminals if anyone still needs it...maybe send some of the parts I have. We're looking at another motor option for next year so we'll put high priority in providing the mating connector and terminals in time.