umm.. heat sinks. sorry, we're roookies.....

[Solace]

we've never used heatsinks per se (although i guess you could argue that our mounting brackets have doubled as heat inks in the past). what we usually do is mount small muffin fans directly under the motors. if you drill holes in the floor of your bot directly under the muffin fan, it will suck the colder air up from outside the bot and directly into the motor. works pretty well, we never tripped our breakers last year even though we had a high speed bot (12 ft/sec) with a grossly inefficient turning process.

oh, and by the way, although gearing your bot to lower speeds like 3 ft/sec will definitely solve your overheating problems, you will be far too slow to actually compete in the game.

[greencactus3]

yeah... thanks everyone, I'm not worried about overheating yet. cuz we ahven't even finished the drivetrain yet. we reeaally need to work on it. I was just wondering. and if we have time, wouldn't having heatsinks be better than not having them even if we don't need them? unless we cover the openings (drill motor), is there a possibility its a bad idea to have them on?
you know, the " better safe than sorry" thing

[Alavinus]

A better option then the heat sinks would be to use the small muffin fans found in the KOP. They require less machining, cost less, and get the air to where it is needed. (The inside of the motor) The fans can be zip-tied on and will aid in cooling.

Of course in your'e really worried about heat, there are always those other fans in the kit...

[Wetzel]

Originally Posted by greencactus3

yeah... thanks everyone, I'm not worried about overheating yet. cuz we ahven't even finished the drivetrain yet. we reeaally need to work on it. I was just wondering. and if we have time, wouldn't having heatsinks be better than not having them even if we don't need them? unless we cover the openings (drill motor), is there a possibility its a bad idea to have them on?
you know, the " better safe than sorry" thing

We've never had hinksinks, nor had any problems attributed to overheating.

We've always been to close to being overweight to worry about it.

Question: Whats the best way to cool most motors, like the drill motors we have?
Answer: Run them full speed at no load.

If you run the drill, you will notice a draft from them. They are designed such that they will such air in and air cool the windings and other hot things. This is then exhasted (the draft) out the back. Cover those, and you will likely overheat and get nice baked motors. Leave them clear and don't worry about heatsinks.


Wetzel

[greencactus3]

just one more question. do the drill motors suck in air going in reverse too?

[Rhs953]

you can drill a hole on the bottom of then and mount them with screws....:/

[KenWittlief]

yes, the blower is not directional - it works on centrifical force

it would be good for every team to take a burnt out motor, or one you are not using (like the fisherprice motors) and disassemble it and glue it to a piece of lexan or something

so that new students can see whats inside it, and get an intuitive sense of how it works, instead of it being a metal can with two wires coming out.

BTW - when you really cook a motor you will know - it has a lingering nasty smell, a little bit like varnish or shellac - and once you cook it the smell never goes away, it will always stink.

[Rhs953]

Wow thats a good idea i think ill do that....right..................now.





Im not insain, I'm just...different

[ShadowKnight]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

when you really cook a motor you will know - it has a lingering nasty smell, a little bit like varnish or shellac - and once you cook it the smell never goes away, it will always stink.

we really didn't cook our motors last year so much as having the back deform and bad stuff came out of the slots in the back. I remember there being lots of plastic but i could be wrong...I just remember vividly replacing the motors then havign to disassemblle and reaseemble the gearbox because we did something wrong and the gearbox began binding...heat might have added to that too...but then...but regarding the overheating factor, we were running one of our motors in reverse...on a somewhat inneficient 4 wheel drive powered only by 2 drill motors...and I think it's possible that one of the motors vents was blocked so...not the brightest way to build a drive train