WCP: 2017 Product Launch + MCC 2017

[Michael Hill]

Originally Posted by Chak

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't understand how to use the roller system. Will there be guides/instructions on how these parts are put together?

I'm guessing the roller ends have the 5/16"-18 thread in the ends to accept a 3/8" shoulder bolt, which will then ride in an FR6 bearing. Plug with the protruding hex shaft will take a hex pulley or sprocket to drive the roller and the plain roller plug will be the non-driven side of the roller and just accept another shoulder bolt.

EDIT: Picture of 254's robot from this year shows how (I think) it's supposed to work. https://www.team254.com/photos/72157...0/26920320025/

[Lil' Lavery]

Some of the products pictures only show CAD models. Do you have pictures/videos of the prototypes that can be posted?

[Andrew_L]

Originally Posted by Michael Hill

I'm guessing the roller ends have the 5/16"-18 thread in the ends to accept a 3/8" shoulder bolt, which will then ride in an FR6 bearing. Plug with the protruding hex shaft will take a hex pulley or sprocket to drive the roller and the plain roller plug will be the non-driven side of the roller and just accept another shoulder bolt.

EDIT: Picture of 254's robot from this year shows how (I think) it's supposed to work. https://www.team254.com/photos/72157...0/26920320025/

Bingo! We have guides and examples coming out soon that'll clear everything up! We appreciate everyone's patience and excitement!

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Some of the products pictures only show CAD models. Do you have pictures/videos of the prototypes that can be posted?

More pictures and videos will be coming soon, but posting renders of products has been a staple for FRC suppliers for a while now. It's sometimes easier to post a render because you can control visibility and lighting settings better than you can with a photo and the real product.

[tim-tim]

Originally Posted by mrnoble

Is the backorder status due to too many orders being placed in the last six hours, or have the products just not arrived yet? I'm assuming the latter.

Based on this statement:

Originally Posted by R.C.

Inventory updates, CAD files and manuals will be going up throughout the week. Products that do not have an ETA:TBD date will be shipping by this Friday.

I would say that the parts not containing the ETA: TBD tag have arrived, but may not be entirely through the inspection or inventorying process yet.
/speculation

An example of a new item with the ETA: TBD is the new Flipped DS.

[nuclearnerd]

I am excited to see the GT2 pulleys and tube axle components - they'll open up many new possibilities, thank you!

I have heard that GT2 belts are built stronger than HTD belts (especially in Gates Carbon), but can you confirm? Are 9mm wide GT2 belts capable of carrying drivetrain loads, when we've only been able to use 15mm HTD belts safely before? If so, could this be a path for West Coast chasses with fixed axles / no tensioners?

[BumblingBuilder]

Originally Posted by nuclearnerd

I am excited to see the GT2 pulleys and tube axle components - they'll open up many new possibilities, thank you!

I have heard that GT2 belts are built stronger than HTD belts (especially in Gates Carbon), but can you confirm? Are 9mm wide GT2 belts capable of carrying drivetrain loads, when we've only been able to use 15mm HTD belts safely before? If so, could this be a path for West Coast chasses with fixed axles / no tensioners?

We had 9mm GT2 (possibly GT3. I don't remember) belts on our 2016 robot. They worked, but they were not ideal. The belts would skip on hard accelerations and when we crossed defenses. And during the season, we had a few belts snap. However, there was only one instance I would think it could have been the belt's fault. The other instances had their own, independent problems. And I would also blame the toughness of 2016's field. In a more traditional game field format I would be inclined to think that one instance would not have happened.

During the offseason we swapped the belts out for 1" GT3 belts. At the one offseason competition those belts got used, we had no skipping and no snapping.

So if a 2016-like game presents itself, I would not recommend 9mm GT2 belts. But in other situations I wouldn't think such problems would be so prominent.
And to avoid the skipping, I would think some tensioning system would suffice. We did not implement a tensioning system whatsoever with the belts.

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by Andrew_L

More pictures and videos will be coming soon, but posting renders of products has been a staple for FRC suppliers for a while now. It's sometimes easier to post a render because you can control visibility and lighting settings better than you can with a photo and the real product.

Posting renders has been a "staple" of new products that haven't been fully launched yet. I don't know of any serious supplier that doesn't provide photos once they have the product in their hands.

[mrnoble]

Originally Posted by tim-tim

Based on this statement:

I would say that the parts not containing the ETA: TBD tag have arrived, but may not be entirely through the inspection or inventorying process yet.
/speculation

An example of a new item with the ETA: TBD is the new Flipped DS.

Thanks, I need to read more carefully.

[Akash Rastogi]

Definitely hoping to use that intake system, stuff looks good RC!

[AustinSchuh]

Originally Posted by nuclearnerd

I am excited to see the GT2 pulleys and tube axle components - they'll open up many new possibilities, thank you!

I have heard that GT2 belts are built stronger than HTD belts (especially in Gates Carbon), but can you confirm? Are 9mm wide GT2 belts capable of carrying drivetrain loads, when we've only been able to use 15mm HTD belts safely before? If so, could this be a path for West Coast chasses with fixed axles / no tensioners?

GT2 is stronger than HTD by a large margin. The Gates precision and light duty manual is a really good read, though it can be a bit boring.

For something as critical as a drivetrain, I'd be hesitant to run them untensioned. It's hard to get everything perfect to get the perfect tension. You also want a pretty significant preload to prevent ratcheting.

We are going to be running 15mm GT3. We've run 9mm GT2 and 9mm GT3, and they are on the edge of surviving a season. (3.5" wheel, 24 tooth pulley).

We are pretty excited about the pulleys!

[R.C.]

CAD Models are up on the group product pages, not individual. If there are any issues please let me know. Pocketed Gears page shows some the amount saved. Some of the inventory has been updated on new products, more will be added throughout the week.

Roller examples will be coming out today sometime. Will update page as they are up.

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by Michael Hill

I'm guessing the roller ends have the 5/16"-18 thread in the ends to accept a 3/8" shoulder bolt, which will then ride in an FR6 bearing. Plug with the protruding hex shaft will take a hex pulley or sprocket to drive the roller and the plain roller plug will be the non-driven side of the roller and just accept another shoulder bolt.

EDIT: Picture of 254's robot from this year shows how (I think) it's supposed to work. https://www.team254.com/photos/72157...0/26920320025/

Nailed it!

[Ari423]

Looks great! I'm really excited to using these parts in the future.

What is the 1.625" Flex Wheel made of? The page lists it as being 6061 Aluminum, but that doesn't make sense for a flexible intake wheel.

Also how much does the new 2 CIM Flipped DS weigh? Other than I am assuming it will be comparatively heavy, it looks like a great new addition to the COTS gearbox list.

[Monochron]

Originally Posted by R.C.

CAD Models are up on the group product pages, not individual.

This may be a silly question but, how do you get to the "individual" pages from the "group" pages aside from searching for the product number? It is very useful to have specific product info available, but I am having a hard time getting to the right page...

Thanks

[Monochron]

Originally Posted by AustinSchuh

For something as critical as a drivetrain, I'd be hesitant to run them untensioned. It's hard to get everything perfect to get the perfect tension. You also want a pretty significant preload to prevent ratcheting.

Could you explain how a preload prevents ratcheting? Is a preload just applying some small torque on the pulley shaft?