FP Motor Leads

[Bill Beatty]

Is anyone having problems breaking off the lugs on the FP motors? We lost three motors on Saturday. They broke off flush with the motor housing. We have used the FP motors every year with no problems. We bend the wire leads back along the motor housing and securely wire tie them to eliminate strain on the lugs. Is something different this year?

Bill Beatty

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Bill,
Haven't heard anything out of the ordinary on the FP motors this year. We haven't had any problems. They actually seemed to solder better this year than in the past.

[Travis Covington]

We broke one of them off. Luckily we ended up not using the mechanism that had the 2 FP motors on it.

It doesnt seem as though the motor has changed at all.

[Jnadke]

Perhaps they are made out of a different material.

Try heating them up a little before you bend them so you don't induce any unneeded stresses.

[Joe Johnson]

Hey Bill,

We are using the FP motors and are having no trouble at all either on our practice mule or on our competition bot.

Joe J.

P.S. Do you have footage of the match were we played you in the semi's in Grand Rapids (especially from the side of the field our two robots were on)? Our video does not show the opening move. I am dying to see it. Beyond that, the match was one of the most exciting matches I have ever been part of in 8 years of FIRST -- from the opening move, to Team 902 tipping over, to your robot flipping them back upright, to our robot doing a sideways roll down the ramp, to our robot almost getting back up but for the bin in our way, to H.O.T.'s robot battling with your robot and 902's for the top of the ramp... ...it was a classic match.

Anyway, if you have a good view of it on video, I would sure like a copy of it.

[Bill Beatty]

Joe,

Yep. We have some good video from our side of the field. Maybe too good.

It was a interesting match to say the least. If that bin wasn't under you, maybe a different outcome.

In two of our four elimination matches, we lost a FP motor, so instead of four wheels driving, we had one wheel dragging. We were very lucky to have done as well as we did. We solder the leads to the motor and tie the lead back along the motor the same as we have done for years. It breaks cleanly even with the motor housing. One motor only lasted one match. We have plenty of spares, but it sure puts a dent in the performance for the rest of the match.

If you Email me a mailing address, I will mail out a copy of the match, or if you prefer, I can take it to Houston.

Here's hoping FIRST was listening to our comments concerning the eliminations.

Regards

Bill Beatty
wcbwildone@aol.com

During the build we broke leads on 2 different motors...no problems since then

[Joe Ross]

Originally posted by D.J. Fluck
During the build we broke leads on 2 different motors...no problems since then

Same here, not since the last day of practice.