Thanks to everyone who emailed [email protected], or reached out to me personally to report the loctite and washer issues with their Falcons. I try to stay on top of individual reports, but it’s difficult when they’re spread across multiple threads/platforms/etc. Reaching out to [email protected] is the best way to help us help you (and the rest of the community).
Yes, there appears to be an issue once again with shaft screws having an inadequate amount of loctite. In addition, it appears that roughly 10% of Falcons did not have the shaft shim installed. Both of these are problematic. We are addressing these issues both in the short term and in the long term.
In the short term, there are a few things:
New Motors/Replacements
We did receive some more Falcons this week. However, we are temporarily suspending any outgoing replacements and new shipments of Falcons.
We are going through and inspecting each one of these motors. We will be reapplying loctite to the shaft screws, and installing any missing shaft shims. This is being done as we speak, and we expect to be back to shipping replacements and having Falcons available for sale sometime next week.
These motors will have a sticker on the box, saying that they have been inspected, so that customers know which motors have and have not been inspected by VEX.
Existing Customers
I believe this issue started around mid-2021. If you bought a motor from June 2021 until present, I would highly recommend inspecting motors for loctite and the presence of the shaft shim.
You should re-loctite the shaft screws on your motors. The Falcon v2 Upgrade Instructions are a pretty good guide to walk you through this process.
If your Falcon doesn’t have a shaft shim….
If you notice your Falcon doesn’t have a shaft shim, there are two options:
- You can contact VEX (link above) and we can send you shaft shims free of charge.
- You can buy a box of 25 shims from McMaster-Carr. The part number is 94773A712.
The motor should only have one shaft shim. Please reference the Falcon v2 Upgrade Instructions (link above) for instructions.
If you strip screws trying to open a motor….
If you are having trouble opening up your Falcon, or have stripped screws trying to open up the motor or remove the shaft screws, please contact VEX ([email protected]). We can give you guidance on opening the motor, as well as supply you with replacement screws. One way or another, we will make this right.
VEX and CTR is deeply sorry that these issues have occurred. Pretty much everyone involved with this product is a former or current FIRST student/mentor. We understand how annoying issues like these are for teams, especially at this point of the season. We sincerely believed these issues were behind us following the first run of Falcons and are extremely disappointed that they have returned. Moving forward we are considering all options, including changes to the design as well as the Falcon supply chain.