New Products for 2016: Speculation, Wants

[Andrew Schreiber]

40A 2 wire slip rings.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

I think the only issues we've ever had with VersaPlanetaries have been related to misuse or improper assembly.

Same - I'm surprised to see so many comments about failures in here. We've had nothing but great experiences (with the ones we put together correctly... )

[Munchskull]

Originally Posted by asid61

cheap encoders (please?)

I used to think that too. With a little research I found two types of encoders that are <$30. You can get CUI 10X-V encoders for ~$24 dollars on digikey. That is a quality incremental encoder but some time you need absolute value on things. While after doing a little research I discovered this ~$28 magnetic encoder, have not used it but it is on my list if the need for absolutel positioning arises.

[Ryan Dognaux]

We have nothing but great things to say about the Versaplanetary gearbox line.

We only had one failure all season and it was completely our fault - we abused the gearbox well beyond what it should have stood up to while prototyping our elevator. Even with 4 totes slamming our elevator carriage to the ground the gearbox still stood up to the shock loads we were repeatedly putting on it. It also made us realize we needed a disc brake at the price of just putting a new gear stage into the gearbox - a very valuable and cheap lesson when time is a factor during build season.

Versaplanetary gearboxes & the versa chassis products have changed the way we design robots in a really good way.

[Aren_Hill]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

I can second this, they're so loud that I'm always worried that something's wrong with them. On that note, I've seen far more failures of versaplanetaries than of any other stock FRC gearbox. They're a really nice idea, I just haven't had good luck with them.

If you have any issues with VersaPlanetaries or other VEXpro products please let me know, I'm happy to help out. (See email in signature)

-Aren

[IndySam]

We have used lots of Versaplanetaries since their inception and have never had any noise or failures. We love those things.

[JesseK]

We have noise on Versaplanetaries when the pinion isn't seated/mounted correctly. The pinion attachment either rubs the motor plate or it rubs the opposite gear/plate. It really pays to pay close attention to the text in the instructions when assembling these things.

Before we apply power, we use a hex hub to reverse-drive the motor by hand. If there's any binding or chattering, we disassemble and reassemble. It should be smooth-running in both directions (caveat - we've only done 2-stage, up to 49:1).

As for 'wishes' (though it may be too late given supply chain timing)
- Grippy roller variations
- Anything to help with the mating of bumpers to frames with quick disconnects

[jwfoss]

Hoping someone starts selling plugs for tubing with hex and/or the standard sprocket bolt pattern.
A COTS roller solution could be a game changer.

[Sperkowsky]

Originally Posted by jwfoss

Hoping someone starts selling plugs for tubing with hex and/or the standard sprocket bolt pattern.
A COTS roller solution could be a game changer.

you mean like this http://www.competitionrobotparts.com...or-roller-kit/

[Jay O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

you mean like this http://www.competitionrobotparts.com...or-roller-kit/

I think he means intake rollers.

[asid61]

Originally Posted by JesseK

We have noise on Versaplanetaries when the pinion isn't seated/mounted correctly. The pinion attachment either rubs the motor plate or it rubs the opposite gear/plate. It really pays to pay close attention to the text in the instructions when assembling these things.

Before we apply power, we use a hex hub to reverse-drive the motor by hand. If there's any binding or chattering, we disassemble and reassemble. It should be smooth-running in both directions (caveat - we've only done 2-stage, up to 49:1).

As for 'wishes' (though it may be too late given supply chain timing)
- Grippy roller variations
- Anything to help with the mating of bumpers to frames with quick disconnects

I'll have to try and reassemble ours to see if the gear rubbing was the cause of the noise. Thanks!
Also, as far as grippy wheels go, urethane rollers would be amazing so we don't have to buy them in 12" sections and cut them down.

[KrazyCarl92]

I am surprised by the complaints related to VersaPlanetaries. I would agree that they are noisy, but I've found them to be incredibly robust while providing a wealth of gearing options.

2013 and prior, Team 20 used Banebots Planetaries (P60s) or Andymark Gearmotors as a planetary solution. The gearmotors were really quite heavy and had limited available ratios. The Banebot Planetaries at the time had sintered gears. Over time after proper assembly, mounting, and loading the gears would still be pulverized into powder. The gearboxes would seize up and we would open them to find our gears were worn to shreds and the grease had metal powder suspended in it. In 2013 we even designed our collector subassembly to be quick change so we could swap out the whole thing in under 5 minutes. This was after a poor experience in 2012 where I probably spent 10 hours over the course of the season replacing BB P60s (poor design for maintenance also to blame).

I still haven't seen a single VersaPlanetary stop working with proper assembly and when mounted and loaded properly.

I do know that in 2014 when we selected Team 229 at the Tech Valley Regional their collector had not been working in their final qualification match. Their VersaPlanetary gearbox had seized up and stopped working, but I knew we had replacements in our pit, so we picked them anyway with the last pick of the draft. When we went to put the new gearbox and motor on their robot, I noted that the mounting of the gearbox was not rigid at all and we were able to work on a modification together that to my knowledge worked for the rest of the season. The sloppiness of their original mount led to strange shock loads in the gearbox due to oscillating tension on the sprocket driven by the gearbox. This highlights how important mounting and loading are the to gearbox functionality.

[cadandcookies]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

I think the only issues we've ever had with VersaPlanetaries have been related to misuse or improper assembly.

Same. This spring GOFIRST built a number of small robots using them as drive gearboxes (15 gearboxes total), and the only issues we had were traced to overgreasing them and a poor mounting job to the frame.

[nuclearnerd]

Originally Posted by jwfoss

Hoping someone starts selling plugs for tubing with hex and/or the standard sprocket bolt pattern.
A COTS roller solution could be a game changer.

I said it in an earlier thread on the same topic. If someone were to make a hub that clamps or keys onto standard 1" tube, we could have a COTS solution for long shafts that won't twist 10 degrees under load.

[Foster]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

40A 2 wire slip rings.

If you Google "electrical slip ring wind turbine" you get a pretty good selection of choices. They are all for low speed(~250 RPM), I don't know what your application is. I also assumed that you were not trying to transfer any load though them.

The one I used is made by Moflon, three wires, 30Amp and cost me about $30. MW1330 is the model I have. As always your mileage will vary.

If you are after just doing control signals, Adafruit has some low voltage, low current ones. 2A / 6 wires ~$15 plus shipping.