Banebot 56mm transmissions are Available

[Teched3]

Several hundred 56mm transmissions are available from Banebots for shipping. They are coming through with hardened carrier plates and the correct length pins. They can be overnighted for you to receive them before you leave for Nationals, so you won't have to depend on another team for spares. They also have many of the hardened carrier plates with the shorter pins available for those of you that want to re-drill and install new, correct length pins in between the existing locations as I posted earlier. For your information, and according to Banebots, the new transmission carrier plates are hardened to RC-23, the same hardness as the output shafts. The replacement carrier plates with the short pins are hardened to about RC-42.

[whytheheckme]

Originally Posted by Teched3

Several hundred 56mm transmissions are available from Banebots for shipping.

Looks like they will be having an overstock.... Whatever doesn't sell for ATL, I'm sure will not be bought by many other teams next year (at least not ours!)

I'm not trying to bash BaneBots. But this particular gearbox has many issues, and I think that things will continue to break, each being the weakest link. Then there will need to be a fix, etc.

I guess I'm finding another thread to vent my frustration with this gearbox. It has caused me several dozen hours of agony. I'll shut up now.

Jacob

[Teched3]

Just to clarify things a little further regarding Banebots. This post was started to inform teams that may not know they are available, that they can obtain spares (prior to attending Nationals) without having to depend on other teams to provide them (maybe). We have had to deal with similar problems with transmissions provided in the kit in the past, and will probably have many issues with parts provided in the KOP in the future. Part of what we aspire to in FIRST is fixing those problems, not just complaining about them. At least Banebots is trying to respond to them in a timely manner, and listening to the FIRST community in helping to resolve them. Do you think Bosch, Black and Decker, or DeWalt would do that for the teams using drill motor transmissions? My posts are focused on trying to help keep as many teams up and running as possible.

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by whytheheckme

But this particular gearbox has many issues, and I think that things will continue to break, each being the weakest link. Then there will need to be a fix, etc.

Jacob

We, too, experienced frustration with the soft carrier plate. We shredded it three weeks into build.

Since replacing the carrier plate we have had zero problems... none... nil... zip... nada! That is through two regionals, and lots of practice down in the pits. We are running four 12:1 bb each off a small CIM in a mecanum drive train.

Without the banebots trannies (and the AM wheels) there is no way we would have attempted a mecanum drive train.

One of the huge advantages of the BB trannies is that they are ideally sized for direct drive to the wheels. This year was the first year that we had no issues with chain tension, alignment, or any of those potentially annoying issues.

The banebots 56mm transmissions are actually a relatively elegant design, easy to disassemble and repair with just a 2.5mm hex key... but again... once we had the new carrier plates in, we had 100% reliability. The simple disassembly, though, is great for teaching students about how planetary gearboxes work.

Perhaps the best thing about going with Banebots is that you KNOW that they will 100% back their product, even if it means a huge financial outlay like making a rush order of well over 2600 new carrier plates.

I think the BB tranny has a bright future for FIRST, despite a somewhat difficult introduction.

Jason

[Tom Bishop]

We used BB 36mm for our shooter mechanism last year. Zero problems.

This year, we used a BB 125:1 for our wrist movement with a further 2:1 chain reduction. This is a more demanding app and its out there, getting hit and being used constantly. So far, it has survived 2 regionals, no problems (knock on wood!)

We are also using the 56mm tranny to move the main arm. This time with 2 sets of chains to reduce shock and add reduction, and the original carrier plate. Again, no problems so far.

BB offers a nice lightweight, inexpensive solution that is easy to implement, and reliable if treated for what it is, namely a lightweight inexpensive solution. Asking too much of these little guys will get you chipped gears, which we did during testing. Treat them well and they work out just fine.

Our experience with BB has been good. We will use them again.

[ZZII 527]

97 ran with only four motors total this year: 2 for drive with 56mm BB 12:1's, one for the main arm joint with 42mm BB 256:1, and one for the wrist joint with 36mm BB 64:1. I've spent many hours making, installing, and testing hardened spares as a precautionary measure, but in actuality none of our stock plates of any size showed any signs of deformation.

I'm not saying the problem didn't exist. In some situations (2 CIMs, for example) the safety factor on the stock plates was not adequate. But if BaneBots returns with an improved product next year, we would probably use it again. Lightweight, cheap, easy to mount (and cool-looking) transmissions are great and the more supplier options available to FIRST teams, the better.

[pafwl]

Lansdale Catholic Cyber-Crusaders #272 have been doing this for 10 years and this is the first time we used direct drive. We used 2 CIMS, a BB 2 to1 transmission adapter and a BB 56 mm transmission from the KOP on 6 inch Andy Mark grippy wheels.

We built the fastest robot we ever built. We won the Pacific Northwest regional (thanks 997 and 1078), and were highly placed in the Philly regional. No problems with the original plates or the hardened plates.

Will we use BB next year, absolutely!

Good Luck to all in Atlanta....

[ChuckDickerson]

Does anyone know if Banebots will be selling the hardened carrier plates with the correct length pins and proper holes separately? It is my understanding that the plate currently on their website for $10 has problems with the length of the pins and the diameter of the pin holes. Is this correct?

While teams can try to modify the existing plates from Banebots doesn't this seem like not the most straight forward way to go? If a team has the CNC machines to fix/make their own plates then fine but it would seem to me that a lot of teams don't have this capability. I would think that if you had the capability to fix/make the plate you would less likely be using the Banebots gearboxes in the first place and were more likely make your own. The teams that need this the most are those that probably don't have the ability to make thier own gearboxes and therefor used the Banebots to start with and thus probably don't have the CNC equipment to fix/make their own replacement plates. From my understanding of the Banebots problems I would think that teams would rather spend $10 on a hardened replacement carrier plate with the correct pins and holes than a whole new $90 gearbox. If the new gearboxes shipping from Banebots have the correct plates with all the problems fixed can we not just buy the correct ones from them for about $10 each?

[Teched3]

Talking with Banebots last week, the manufacturer, for proprietary reasons, will not make parts available. You will have to buy the whole transmission. This can be verified by contacting Banebots, if you wish. Banebots is not happy about that, and indicated to me that will be a concern for next year. You don't need CNC equipment to make the plates. You could use a mill that has DRO (digital readout), or an index head to locate the holes. Using the hardened plates with the double D eliminates the need to do this hole, which is usually cut with EDM, water jet, or laser, and you already have the plate to work with. You can look for a small machine shop in your area, or local vo-tech program, that might be willing to do the machining as a sponsor, gratis.---

[ChuckDickerson]

Well that just sucks about the Banebots supplier not selling just the plates. We have the machine shop facilities for ourselves but I am much more worried about those low budget, hacksaw and hand drill teams.