Uses for FP Motors?

[Ryo_Himura]

Teams in DC are wondering what the Fisher Price motors are for.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Ryo_Himura

Teams in DC are wondering what the Fisher Price motors are for.

Whatever you decide to use them for, as long as you keep it legal. (The same is true for any motor in the kit. Just make sure you do the math to get the right one.)

[Ryan F.]

I'd use them for anything but drivetrain

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by Ryan F.

I'd use them for anything but drivetrain

I second that one. We have used them for the drive train before but you have to watch their temperature it is very easy to over heat them and have them motors melt down. These motors have about half the torque that the little CIM has but they are still very powerful for their size.

[Mike Betts]

Originally Posted by Ryo_Himura

Teams in DC are wondering what the Fisher Price motors are for.

The original use of the FP motors are for a child's motorized toy. What you will use it for is up to you.

As noted above, these are fan cooled motors and will rapidly (2 or 3 seconds) overheat and burn if stalled. This is because the fan is stopped and the internal losses are large in a stall condition...

Best of luck...

Mike

[Andrew Blair]

Unless something has changed this year, (sorry, haven't checked the spec sheets) the power of the CIM and the FP are only separated by a few watts.


The biggest problem with FP's is that you can't really load them till they're close to stall, or they will smoke. You must design in a few hundred to thousand safety RPM to keep them cool.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Last year's FPs were 6V units running at 12V. So they were a heck of a lot more powerful. This year's FPs are true 12V units. Peak Power is about 170W. Pay no attention to the guidelines document, it's listing the power input at Peak Power. About half of which the motor is just turning into heat.

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

Last year's FPs were 6V units running at 12V. So they were a heck of a lot more powerful. This year's FPs are true 12V units. Peak Power is about 170W. Pay no attention to the guidelines document, it's listing the power input at Peak Power. About half of which the motor is just turning into heat.

Does anyone have hard numbers on the new motors yet?

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Does anyone have hard numbers on the new motors yet?

All the motor specs are on FIRSTs website.

2006 FIRST Robotics Competition Kit of Parts Specification Sheets

Good Luck
~Kirk

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Kirk

All the motor specs are on FIRSTs website.

Thanks, Kirk. I was looking for the tech information that they mentioned on the kick-off Webcast that was being worked out by 35 teams.

[Ianworld]

Just a quick question are we allowed to use last years 6 volt fischer prices? I really loved their insane amount of power. Not that I think we need it per se this year, but a flywheeel hooked up to one could really... fly!

[Andy A.]

The FP's thrive in conditions that require the high power in a small space and high RPM's.

They are good for things like running a ball roller system, where you need the high RPM and you can keep it running at that speed. It's also helpful that they have far and away the greatest power the weight/size ratio of any motor in the kit so packaging them is easier.

In fact, anytime you need to keep something spinning at a fairly consistent (high) speed is a possible FP use. It's not that a CIM motor can't do it, but they are probably better placed on a drive train or arm which will require more slow speed high torque operation.

-Andy A.

[lukevanoort]

Originally Posted by Ianworld

Just a quick question are we allowed to use last years 6 volt fischer prices? I really loved their insane amount of power. Not that I think we need it per se this year, but a flywheeel hooked up to one could really... fly!

According to the rules the only FPs you can't use are '03 and '02. It doesn't say a thing about the '05 one.

Originally Posted by Section 5: The Robot

<R25>Motors, pumps, and, robot controllers from previous robots may not be used in addition to those provided
in the 2006 kit of parts. They may be used as direct one-to-one SPARE PARTS for those provided if the
provided part fails or is damaged. They may only be used if they are identical to the part being replaced (note
that 2002 and 2003 Fisher-Price motors are not the same as those in the 2006 kit, and, therefore, cannot be
used).

[Alekat]

Originally Posted by Ryan F.

I'd use them for anything but drivetrain

Even with the andymark planetary transmissions? They gear them to be just lik a CIM so the only difference is s few watts right?

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

I was looking for the tech information that they mentioned on the kick-off Webcast that was being worked out by 35 teams.

sigh... We're working on it. It's been hard to shake loose the resources needed to build a dynamometer with the range to characterize all of the motors, but we're almost there. The design is not as trivial as it seems.

Take a look in the National Instruments and DAQ forums for the latest news.

Don