NeveRest 60 in FRC

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Billfred

To achieve a 63:1 reduction with a VersaPlanetary costs $84.95 ($89.95 if you want 1/2" hex)--base stage, two ring gears, 7:1 and 9:1 stages. That buys you six NeveRest 60 gearheads (and most of the 7th), which also tucks into a smaller space (shorter, and the diameter is basically that of the motor itself). If you have means to protect against shock loads in the design, the packaging and budget advantages of the stock gearhead may be attractive to you.

I think it's a difference worth spending for teams that can afford it - That $85 is the means (for our FTC teams) of protecting against the shock load. Our FTC teams were so thankful when buying them without the gearhead became available. The spiraling spur gears don't hold up well on the small robots, I'd be really worried about FRC team applications. Releasing latches or other servo-like replacements work with the gearhead on, but anything more heavy-duty, in our experience, is less reliable.

Originally Posted by Billfred

(And at the risk of being a broken record, FIRST has still not announced whether removing or changing the gearhead is an approved modification.)

Yep! Definitely something teams will have to pay attention to. Our mods come from the FTC world where it is legal. Hopefully they allow for it in FRC - the modifications our FTC teams have learned to make have made their robots significantly more dependable. If there's a situation where teams need to use them (cue the 2011 flashbacks) I hope teams will be able to customize in a way that lets them play their best.

[FTC5110]

Originally Posted by Libby K

I think it's a difference worth spending for teams that can afford it - That $85 is the means (for our FTC teams) of protecting against the shock load. Our FTC teams were so thankful when buying them without the gearhead became available. The spiraling spur gears don't hold up well on the small robots

It really comes down to how you treat them. We've used NeveRest motors since they arrived on the scene and gearbox failures aren't an issue. Our team has given these motors death in drivetrains and lift systems but always made an effort to minimize shock loads through control systems.

Okay the 20:1 is a bit weak (we broke 2 last season) and some emit funny noises but they're cheap and don't leak smoke.

Never had an issue with the spiraling spur gears. What on earth are you doing to them!

[xjschwen]

We are playing the FTC game this year and have blown out 4 of the Neverest 20 gearboxes. This was because the middle school teams did not set them to float at motor power 0.. W hen the motor power was set to zero the brake would come on and there was enough inertia in the shooter to trash the 20:1 gearboxes.

We took the gearboxes off and put an FTC motor collar directly on the spur gear.

So instead of attempting to gear up from 300 RPM to about 1800, we now start at 6000 RPM and gear down to 2000 RPM. We have a far better shooter than we had. The gear train is far simpler... less friction.. more reliable.

In 3 years of FTC we have burned out only 1 of these motors but have trashed many gear boxes.