Best Looking Gearbox

[Knufire]

Originally Posted by MichaelBick

254 has broken countless motors with those gearboxes.

Originally Posted by Travis Covington

I think he was saying that the bending moment induced by the torsion on the pinion gear is less when the gear is closer to the mounting plate. This would decrease the bending moment and the likelihood of bending the CIM shaft. I recall seeing one bent shaft on our 2013 robot (caused by some significant shock loads in the PTO/hanging mechanism). We used the same mounting scheme in 2014 and saw no bent shafts.

^^

[Richard Wallace]

I vote for 148's Tumbleweed 2008 gearbox. Just peering down into that thing, and seeing all that raw power driving that little chassis -- well, let's just say I like torque. The more the better.

The most amazing thing to me was that they were a winning #1 AC in Week 1, and later a second pick winner on Einstein. A truly great drive train can be the foundation of a championship season, even when game play evolves beyond the robot's initial design capability.

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

I vote for 148's Tumbleweed 2008 gearbox.

+1! Much before my time in FRC, but it is certainly the most impressive competition gearbox I've seen, installed on the most iconic robot I've seen.

That said, I've been wondering lately if an utterly oddball skid-steer (two pneumatic or specially designed solid wheels on the right side with between 30 and 45 degrees negative camber and driven by 3 or 4 CIMs, and one vertical wheel on the left side driven by 2 CIMs, with a few percent difference in effective gear ratios on the sides) couldn't have run laps just as fast, or maybe even faster. Something like this as viewed from behind:

                               _______
     Left wheel, 2 CIMs ---->  |     \  <----Right wheels, 4 CIMs

[Mike Marandola]

My vote is for 696's 2015 swerve boxes. They are so clean.

http://2015blog.team696.org/wp-conte...2/IMG_2485.jpg
http://2015blog.team696.org/wp-conte...1/IMG_0390.jpg
http://2015blog.team696.org/wp-conte...2/IMG_2640.jpg

[bEdhEd]

Made this rendering a while back when I was discussing with someone how many CIMs to put on a gearbox. You can barely see the plate that holds it all together.

[Whippet]

Shameless self-plug.

Coincidentally, it would have been 100% legal for the 2015 season if someone were willing to make it.

[JackFisher]

I beleive the best looking gearboxes are the ones with the least amount of parts. Didn't have photo on hand to post.

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Whippet

Shameless self-plug.

Coincidentally, it would have been 100% legal for the 2015 season if someone were willing to make it.

I did make this model before the 2015 season, so unlimited CIMs seemed like a dream. I think weight would have been the only issue along with exceeding the maximum budget on the BOM.

[Scott Kozutsky]

Originally Posted by GeeTwo

                               _______
     Left wheel, 2 CIMs ---->  |     \  <----Right wheels, 4 CIMs

Of course you could go faster with 50% more cims than back in the day (tumbleweed was restricted to 4). My friends team had a ~40lb robot (if his tales are to be believed) with 4 cims driving a solid rear axle using an omni wheel in front to steer. It didn't compete because of politics but apparently it was much faster than tumbleweed.

+1 for 192 and their functional art piece of a gearbox.

[MichaelBick]

Originally Posted by Scott Kozutsky

Of course you could go faster with 50% more cims than back in the day (tumbleweed was restricted to 4). My friends team had a ~40lb robot (if his tales are to be believed) with 4 cims driving a solid rear axle using an omni wheel in front to steer. It didn't compete because of politics but apparently it was much faster than tumbleweed.

Tumbleweed's drivetrain was impressive not only for its speed but also it's ability to play defense, both aspects which they used as an integral member of thei rchampionship winning alliance.

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by Thad House

It definitely is interesting how you go to different areas of the country and get completely different robots. Get me a set of robots from Texas, California, Michigan, PNW and NE, and every one will have much different design values.

As for this actual thread, I always liked the look of the 254 flat gearboxes from 2013 and 2014. I keep suggesting to VexPro they should release those, because the form factor for those is really convenient.

Local teams are inspired by (or in some cases flat out copy) aspects of design and methodology from highly successful teams in their area. There is also a different game culture in different areas of the country, especially with respect to defense.

These trends are especially prevalent in drivetrain and chassis design, since these change less from year to year. You used to see it even more before AndyMark and VexPro and others were offering so many high-quality COTS parts (and fewer teams were going to the World Championship and there was less "globalization" of FRC).

I think this is one of the neatest parts of FRC, and I enjoy walking around Championships observing local trends and "natural selection" at work.

[IKE]

Originally Posted by Thad House

It definitely is interesting how you go to different areas of the country and get completely different robots. Get me a set of robots from Texas, California, Michigan, PNW and NE, and every one will have much different design values.

...snip....

Can you quantify Michigan design values? I am curious if someone can help me with that as I may be too close tot he subject to see.

I do know that there are a few styles of construction here in Michigan, but i d not believe any of them to be exclusive too or "local trend"....