Banebot 56mm gearbox - double D - RELOADED

[Joe Johnson]

A note to all the folks concerned about the 42mm and 36mm gearbox:

I appreciate your concern but the cases have almost nothing in common with eachother.

Let me explain. The 56mm gearbox is PURCHASED by FIRST to put in the kit. While teams can use them for any purpose they see fit, the main purpose that FIRST decided to buy them is to drive robot chassis for teams with scarces resources. The reason I have been loosing sleep is that I believe that a drivable robot is so fundamental to a successful FIRST season that the mission of FIRST was at risk of being damaged if teams were going to see these failures in competition.

Now to the 36mm gearboxes. These are gearboxes that Banebots DONATED to the kit. More than that, they donated an extra motor and other goodies. Beyond that, they offer for sale other things that make building robots easier and more robust.

There is literally NOTHING in the FIRST KOP that cannot be damaged if used beyond their limitations. All KOP items, actually, all items have limitations.

In my work to solve the 56mm Gearbox Double D issue, I found that I could extrapolate some of my results to the 36mm gearbox that Banebots donated to the KOP as well as the 42mm gearbox that Banebots sells. I THOUGHT I was doing the FIRST community a service. I was offering advice as to what I thought a conservative use of these parts would entail.

While I am happy that I have perhaps prevented some teams from designing a mechanism that will break. I regret that many teams have inferred from this several false ideas:

• The 36mm and 42mm gearboxes are defective* -- THIS IS FALSE
• The 36mm and 42mm gearboxes are not extremely useful for a FIRST robot -- THIS IS FALSE
• FIRST and/or Banebots should do something to remove this limitation -- THIS IS FALSE

Perhaps my greatest regret is that my conservative estimates have caused significant financial damage to Banebots**. While I have not spoken to Banebots about specific numbers, it is clear that teams are mis-interpreting my conservative estimates to mean that they should not use Banebots' 36mm and 42mm gearboxes at all. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

While teams are free to do whatever they want, I really really hope that teams will think and act rationally. I believe that if they do, they will end up buying quite a few products from Banebots. I think this will be a good thing for a number of reasons not the least of which that FIRST benefits from companies like AndyMark, IFI, and Banebots being around and supporting FIRST. Sales are what keeps a business in business. Sales to FIRST teams make donating stuff (or selling it at a deep discount) to the FIRST KOP a lot easier to fit into a business plan.

For what it is worth.

Joe J.


*believe it or not, a team actually tried to return the KOP 36mm gearbox claiming it was defective -- this is insanity, not to mention about the most ungracious request I can imagine. Think about it, a company donates something to the FIRST KOP and a team has the audacity to request a cash refund because the part could, in theory, be broken. My blood boils!!!

**I will state again for the record, other than the fact that Robotic Amusements, Inc. uses Banebots as a supplier of some of its motors, I have no financial tie to Banebots at all. To be specific, they don't pay me, I get no commision, I don't get a discount or kickback on other sales, I am not a paid consultant for them, etc. etc.