-Shock Loading How important is it?

[Gary Dillard]

Well, we didn't have shock isolation in our gear box, but.......

1) The reason we missed our first couple practice matches at nationals was that we were rebuilding the gearboxes to beef up the shear pins. We sheared one in the semi's at KSC and to make it through the finals we had to use a drill bit because we didn't have a spare with tight enough fit. We built new shafts during the allowable 2 days after regionals and spent all day thursday at Disney reboring, drilling and fitting the gears.

2) We spent the entire time between Division Finals and Final Four dressing the gear teeth with a Dremel tool since they had taken so much abuse. We were having trouble shifting gears (Almost cost us the last match).

3) We ran full blast at the goal and into Beattie on a wing and a prayer. I'm afraid of what will happen at MiM - I don't know if the gearbox has many more matches left in it.