Lead screws

[lemiant]

We're looking at using lead screws to adjust the angle on our shooter. Like many teams did with their hoods last year. What products work well, and which robots implemented them especially well. We're specifically interested in how teams attached a KoP motor to a lead screw.

[Kevin Sevcik]

We used a lead screw in a telescoping arm in 2011. The easiest way to attach a KoP motor to a leadscrew is to buy a leadscrew the same diameter as the output shaft of your gearbox and use a rigid clamp-style coupler to attach the two together.

Next easiest is to use a lathe to turn the leadscrew down to the same diameter as your gearbox shaft and then use a clamping coupler.

Least easy is if you can't afford to have the length of the gearbox+motor sticking out the end of your leadscrew and you want a sprocket or pulley on there instead. Then you need to do a true end-prep on the end of the leadscrew, which involves turning and end down so you have (working from the end of the screw inwards): an output shaft sized for your sprocket/pulley, a thread for your lock nut, and a bearing seat for one or two bearings. And then you need a bearing block to house those bearings. Probably you're not actually interested in this option, so go with one of the first two.

[CalTran]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

We used a lead screw in a telescoping arm in 2011. The easiest way to attach a KoP motor to a leadscrew is to buy a leadscrew the same diameter as the output shaft of your gearbox and use a rigid clamp-style coupler to attach the two together.

Next easiest is to use a lathe to turn the leadscrew down to the same diameter as your gearbox shaft and then use a clamping coupler.

Least easy is if you can't afford to have the length of the gearbox+motor sticking out the end of your leadscrew and you want a sprocket or pulley on there instead. Then you need to do a true end-prep on the end of the leadscrew, which involves turning and end down so you have (working from the end of the screw inwards): an output shaft sized for your sprocket/pulley, a thread for your lock nut, and a bearing seat for one or two bearings. And then you need a bearing block to house those bearings. Probably you're not actually interested in this option, so go with one of the first two.

Considering that ATA has more Lathes than some teams have students...