Can I use a Spike to control a BaneBots motor?

Technical Electrical
1

Hello,

I was wondering if there’s any reason why I shouldn’t use a Spike to control a Banebots motor? (Since until today I only saw Spikes connected to Pneumatic Compressors, nothing else)

Thanks!

2

Per Table 4.4 of Rule R52, yes and no, you can use a Spike to control a Banebot. Depends on the specific Banebot. Might I inquire as to what you need a Banebot at full power all the time for?

3

R52 ::rtm::

But beyond legality, you should consider the application for the motor. Is speed control desired? Do you ever want to run it at less than the battery voltage?

4

You can do it but I would not recommend it. Last year, we started out using Spikes on Banebot RS550’s running our conveyors and were continually blowing fuses. You are only allowed to use the resettable fuses with a compressor and nothing else connected to a Spike. We ended up switching over to Victors and did not have any more issues.

5

Only do it with light duty loads. The fuses won’t hold up if you try to do any heavy-lifting with it.

6

It turns out the motor we’re using is RS540, so using a Spike is out of the question.

The motor is used to run our pickup system, and it works best running full speed. Anyway, even if it was legal I wouldn’t take my chances to run into the problems mentioned by Shu and cgmv123.