pic: 254 2010 Gearbox 1

[craigboez]

loading photo ...

[robostangs548]

Stunning, to say the least...

[MattC9]

I know this thread is over 2 years old but..... Did 254/968 use AM gears or did they make their own gears?

[Cory]

Originally Posted by MattC9

I know this thread is over 2 years old but..... Did 254/968 use AM gears or did they make their own gears?

We used a mix of Andymark gears that we lightened/changed bores and Martin gears that we lightened/put our own bores in.

[Andrew Remmers]

Funny to see this pop up I was just thinking about this gearbox last night.

[JeremyLansing]

You mentioned changing the bores on the AndyMark gears. We were talking about doing something similar, specifically boring a 3/8th bore out to a 1/2 and then broaching it. I was wondering if you could give a bit more information about what set up you used and how you went about it.

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by SilenNex

You mentioned changing the bores on the AndyMark gears. We were talking about doing something similar, specifically boring a 3/8th bore out to a 1/2 and then broaching it. I was wondering if you could give a bit more information about what set up you used and how you went about it.

Unsure what 254 does, We have bored out our dog gears to accept a R10 bearing and to broach to a bigger size numerous times. We take softjaws on the lathe and bore them out to the gear diameter. We hold the gear and open the bore via a boring bar.

-RC

[Cory]

Originally Posted by SilenNex

You mentioned changing the bores on the AndyMark gears. We were talking about doing something similar, specifically boring a 3/8th bore out to a 1/2 and then broaching it. I was wondering if you could give a bit more information about what set up you used and how you went about it.

We do basically the same thing as RC, except soft jaws in a vise on a CNC mill. We then interpolate the bore and broach on the machine.

[JeremyLansing]

Originally Posted by R.C.

Unsure what 254 does, We have bored out our dog gears to accept a R10 bearing and to broach to a bigger size numerous times. We take softjaws on the lathe and bore them out to the gear diameter. We hold the gear and open the bore via a boring bar.

Originally Posted by Cory

We do basically the same thing as RC, except soft jaws in a vise on a CNC mill. We then interpolate the bore and broach on the machine.

Thanks for the quick replies. Since we don't have a CNC machine we will most likely be trying the lathe approach, can you recommend any good boring bars or associated tooling?

[BrendanB]

Cory, what material do you guys use for your side plates?

[Brian Selle]

Do you mount encoders on one of the transmission axles (and then have to account for which gear you are in) or other location?

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by SilenNex

Thanks for the quick replies. Since we don't have a CNC machine we will most likely be trying the lathe approach, can you recommend any good boring bars or associated tooling?

At work we use Kenametal Holders. Normally Mitsubushi Rep's come out and pretty much tell us what tooling to use. CNMG is the style insert we use. But thats for CNC related machining.

For the manual stuff at school, we have HSS boring bars we bought in a 9 pack from MSC or Enco. TBH, if you just call MSC or a tooling rep, they'll tell ya what you need and sometimes they'll even donate it.

Originally Posted by BrendanB

Cory, what material do you guys use for your side plates?

Gearbox Plates are 6061 - T6 and they pocket them.

Originally Posted by btslaser

Do you mount encoders on one of the transmission axles (and then have to account for which gear you are in) or other location?

They mount the encoder on one of the wheel shafts.


-RC

[DampRobot]

Originally Posted by Cory

We used a mix of Andymark gears that we lightened/changed bores and Martin gears that we lightened/put our own bores in.

Just wondering, what are the prices and lead times like for Martin gears? We've been using SDP-SI, and I was wondering how they compared. Just looking at their catalog, their selection in some regards is certainly larger.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

Just wondering, what are the prices and lead times like for Martin gears? We've been using SDP-SI, and I was wondering how they compared. Just looking at their catalog, their selection in some regards is certainly larger.

Generally we get them from Motion Industries. Prices are fairly reasonable (better than McMaster). I want to say they varied from about $30 for a 50T to $8 for a 12T. Most gears are in stock in Sacramento/LA. Some have to come from the factory in Texas.

McMaster can also get you any Martin gear that is not listed in their catalog. I don't know how the lead time/price compares to Motion.

SDP is probably the worst supplier we use. For a few years we've been referring to them as (Out of) Stock Drive Products. We've had some quality issues as well. Also very expensive.

Originally Posted by SilenNex

Thanks for the quick replies. Since we don't have a CNC machine we will most likely be trying the lathe approach, can you recommend any good boring bars or associated tooling?

We don't do a lot of boring on the lathe, as we tend to put parts that would normally be turned on the CNC mill if they require much material removal/accuracy, but when we do, for small diameter boring we use whatever random brazed carbide bars are around.

I've never liked these as they tend to have large tip radii and are not very sharp. Something like this would be great, but kind of expensive. You could find similar HSS/carbide tipped tools elsewhere for cheap.

We have a 1" indexable boring bar that works great. Same as this. Inserts can be expensive (about $5 ea), but the ones we get are designed for aluminum (all we use it for) and are extremely sharp, which is beneficial on small lathes. You can also use the inserts for OD turning, with a different tool holder.

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Cory

SDP is probably the worst supplier we use. For a few years we've been referring to them as (Out of) Stock Drive Products. We've had some quality issues as well. Also very expensive.

I've noticed their stock of interesting robot gears being somewhat marginal for the last few years as well. I can only applaud their efforts to reduce costs sunk into inventory if they make an equal effort to producing items on demand and shipping them quickly.

And their billing system is a nightmare. The web orders don't interface properly with the rest of the order system, so if you have a problem with one, you have to get a different department to pull it up for you.

Also, I worry about their IT resources. After all, I've been experiencing the same technical problems for years now, and despite me mentioning them repeatedly, it doesn't seem to be corrected yet. (For example, they've got billing information that has been out of date for maybe 9 years, and no matter how many times I tell them to correct it, it still comes back every time.)