New Products for 2016: Speculation, Wants

[Knufire]

Originally Posted by Foster

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.

I assume his application is to power a CIM on a swerve module and get full rotation without a coaxial power transmission setup.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Foster

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.

I've got one similar to your 30A one. The big issue is that means I'd have to run CIMs on a 30A breaker since the slip ring is only rated to 30A. It's for 16 style swerve modules. And getting rid of the extra wire would help them be lighter.

[M. Mellott]

Speaking of VersaPlanetaries, I'd love to see a longer 1/2" hex output shaft for the VersaPlanetaries...say 6-8".

I second the need for a Banebot wheel alternatives/replacements...smooth tread, 1/2" hex bore, differing durometer materials, really cheap, and larger than 2.5" diameter.

[marshall]

Would love to see VersaWheels with the "W" tread pattern in a 3.25" size. Image of the tread pattern:

http://www.vexrobotics.com/media/cat...1/217-2903.jpg

[Oblarg]

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).

I haven't actually assembled any myself, but I'll try to oversee the next time one gets put together and pass this on in case they've been doing it sloppily. Thanks.

[Peyton Yeung]

We've used versaplanetaries both this year and last. The only had issues we had were some pins in the carrier plate were not flush on one side which caused friction and binding. This was fixed by an arbor press to make the pins flush.

[Nathan Streeter]

More or less in order of importance...

1. More VexPro gear sizes. We have a pretty good variety of 1/2 and 3/8 hex gears, but I'd particularly like to have 18, 22, 28, and 32t gear options. Really, it'd be ideal to have every even gear tooth count from 14 - 70t available... we aren't too far from it, but somehow lacking those few missing ones feels limiting when designing custom shifting gearboxes. It'd also be nice to have a few more sizes of Ball-Shifter gears... 40t, 46t, and 56t especially... although I suppose some might like 64t too. Instead of really only having a few 10t and a 16t pairing to choose from (34-44, 44-54, 44-60, and 50-60), we'd have more 10t splits along with some potentially really nice 12t and 14t ones (40-50, 40-54, 44-56, 46-56, 46-60, 50-64, 54-64). A few more sizes in the 80+ tooth range with VersaKey/Bearing Bore mounting would be icing on the (cheese)cake...

2. Seconding the 'VersaPlanetary Encoder Block' suggestion. Our team uses more motors with encoders than without (I think only 2 of the motors on our 2013-2015 robots didn't have encoders)... having to design in encoders can often be tedious or unnecessarily constrain the design.

3. Longer options for the Ballshifter output shaft (even if it was just the .5" hex shaft and we'd install them separately... perhaps that'd be preferable anyway?)

Really though, I'd like to thank AndyMark and VexPro for what they've been doing over the past few years to supply good options to designers experienced and inexperienced to make it easier to do the 'ordinary' and the extraordinary. The selection of COTS frames, wheels, gearboxes, and the various 'building blocks' like hex and tube shaft, hub adapters, gears, etc. is truly fantastic! And even while the selection has broadened, the prices have become lower too!

[Thad House]

Originally Posted by Nathan Streeter

More or less in order of importance...

1. More VexPro gear sizes. We have a pretty good variety of 1/2 and 3/8 hex gears, but I'd particularly like to have 18, 22, 28, and 32t gear options. Really, it'd be ideal to have every even gear tooth count from 14 - 70t available... we aren't too far from it, but somehow lacking those few missing ones feels limiting when designing custom shifting gearboxes. It'd also be nice to have a few more sizes of Ball-Shifter gears... 40t, 46t, and 56t especially... although I suppose some might like 64t too. Instead of really only having a few 10t and a 16t pairing to choose from (34-44, 44-54, 44-60, and 50-60), we'd have more 10t splits along with some potentially really nice 12t and 14t ones (40-50, 40-54, 44-56, 46-56, 46-60, 50-64, 54-64). A few more sizes in the 80+ tooth range with VersaKey/Bearing Bore mounting would be icing on the (cheese)cake...

One specific extra ratio would be nice as well. A 27T 3/8 Hex gear, and then 47T 1/2 Hex and Dog Gears. This would give a nice in between ratio for the WCP gearboxes, that would be fantastic at about 13 FPS.

One other thing I would like to see is a COTS Disk Brake. The Poofs brake from this year seemed very simple, and it seems like it would be pretty easy to make COTS.

[Lil' Lavery]

Since this is turning into a wish list thread:

More support for 1/2" keyed round shafts. Not every team owns a hex broach, and 1/2" round axles often match what is available from non-FRC suppliers. Many products have this option available, but not all do, and we end up having to purchase hex hubs to accommodate those products in our design. Last year that turned into a significant delay as we waited for the hex hubs for the Colson wheels we were mounting directly on our WCP transmissions. The rest of our wheels were mounted without that delay, since we used 1/2" keyed. This can often go hand-in-hand with the hex shaft and hex bearing shortages we see during build season.

[page2067]

A 3/8" hex bore bearing with a 0.875" OD.

[Scott Kozutsky]

Chain tools for 35 and 25 chain similar to this one:
http://www.parktool.com/product/chai...category=Chain

Sprockets for bike chain. (cheaper, more available, lighter and more resistant to misalignment than #35 chain. If you get the unreasonably expensive stuff it's even lighter than #25 while being considerably stronger)

[Mike Marandola]

Originally Posted by Scott Kozutsky

Chain tools for 35 and 25 chain similar to this one:
http://www.parktool.com/product/chai...category=Chain

Sprockets for bike chain. (cheaper, more available, lighter and more resistant to misalignment than #35 chain. If you get the unreasonably expensive stuff it's even lighter than #25 while being considerably stronger)

Chain breakers are already commonly available. You can even find tools that can re-peen the old pin like this one from 221 Systems or this one.

[Sohaib]

This is probably being picky, but a 3 CIM Ball Shifter WCD with Native support for two 15mm pulleys would be great!

[cadandcookies]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Since this is turning into a wish list thread:

Personally, I am looking forward to the long-awaited adoption of unobtanium as a primary material for all items. This is a long awaited and much needed change in my opinion.

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by Daniel_LaFleur

I'd love to see an electronic pressure controller or electronic variable pneumatic regulator.