2-Speed Shooter Gearbox

[JVN]

Based on a post by Andy Baker, I started thinking about something.

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

The gears and the plates go together to make a 2 speed, shift-on-the-fly shooter. This is to optimize acceleration. They can start their flywheel in low gear, get up to a good rpm and then shift to high gear. With this shifter, they will be spinning at top speed faster than their opponents. Very nice.

Andy B.

Based on the motors we're dealing with, is a 2-speed shooter advantageous?
Andy is (of course) right about decreasing the acceleration of the system by using a 2-speed; I'm wondering, is it necessary?

Unfortunately, I haven't had a a chance this year to play around with the design of these systems. Who has more information about the acceleration time for a shooter in this year's game?

First set of questions--

• How long does your shooter take to reach top speed?
• Do you think this is an unreasonable time?
• What advantage do you think you'd gain by decreasing that time (by half or more)?

Second set of questions--

• If you had a 2-speed gearbox, how much time would it shave off your acceleration time?
• Would you be able to reduce the power applied to the shooter, and still have comparable acceleration time (using 1 motor, instead of 2)?
• Would a shifter weigh less than this 2nd motor?