Dual versaplanteary's with different reductions question

[chadr03]

I don't think you would like the results.

If you back drive a motor it becomes a generator and feeds power back into the system. With a 100:1 reducton gearbox if it is backdriven makes it a 100:1 increaser so you would have a generator moving pretty quick. This is putting power on the wrong end of your speed controllers and can damage them.

Also have you ever tried to backdrive a 100:1 recuction. It takes quite a bit of torque even if it is not trying to generate electricity.

I think your best best is to find a middle of the road solution or try some shifting/clutch mechanism that will allow your mechanism to work without having to backdrive the unused motor.

[pmangels17]

You could explore options of driving them both with one-way bearings. That might do the trick, since they wouldn't backdrive each other. This could be an issue if you ever wanted to run your intake in reverse, but it could be something to consider if you are only driving it in one direction. Or you could have each motor spin a different shaft/roller/wheel, and depending on the geometry of everything it could work out.

[GeeTwo]

Did you consider gearing fast, then using an encoder and driving the motor at two different speeds? You'd need to verify that you can get enough torque at both speeds to do your job, of course. It would require more motor than a neat shifter would, but would be much simpler and less expensive to build.