Man! Now THOSE were the days… We’d spend 2-3 weeks just getting the drive train to work.
Now, so as to not hijack this thread, I’d like to have a set of hole cutters like these: http://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/98332570 but 5 thou undersized so that we could press fit bearings into the hole.
Toolpost Grinder? I recently ran into an issue tapping a 1/4-20 hole, had to tap past the shoulder and had no reduced shank tap. Put my tap in the Bridgeport spindle and a Die Grinder in the vise and reduced the shank in about 15 minutes.
Good times.
How about a servo version of the CIM everyone would love that.
Can you provide pictures for this?
Personally, I’d rather see more integrated options made available to teams than us using the same old hacks to make our existing solutions work. Yes, they work, but they aren’t pretty. I think I have a good idea of what you are describing and the encoder/sensor being exposed is still the biggest problem for longevity (read: durability).
Double 25 sprockets, 3mm pitch belts/pulleys with 3/8" hex and press fit for common FRC motor shafts, steel on brass worm gearbox, and half inch hex sleeve.
Some sort of simple system for large diameter hollow tube axles/bearing for arm joints.
I’d like to see vex or AM make sprockets compatible with bike chain.
It’s really strong, more resistant to misalignment, more readily available, has much better breaking/joining tools and is lighter than 35 chain per linear distance. There are also a few existing mechanisms that could potentially be pulled from bikes for it.
How about a 2 inch colson wheel with hex hub (I know it is a tad random, but would help with my teams octocanum)
Plus, on the more unrealistic side:
locking mecanum wheels
A disk brake stage that stacks with other gearboxes that have a hex output shaft
That is not unrealistic at all. I would love a modular hex disk break.
Not compatible with existing wheels (versapattern/1.875 hexagonal bolt pattern) and no cheap hex options. Additionally, #40 chain is physically thicker than bike chain making the sprockets incompatible.
I’ve seen teams mount disks to the 1.875 hole pattern adapters so that’s a pretty good starting point. It’s a pretty simple thing to execute and is not necessary for most games so it would be too specialized IMO.
It would also be cool to see versablocks to mount to standard lumber sizes to make prototype and otherwise cheap robots easier.
Ahh, I am not very familiar with bikes. I never knew there were various bike chain roller widths. Neat!
I’ve talked with some people that did this and actually got their product to market. I know that they learned an absolute ton, and enjoyed the experience of developing the product, but from a financial perspective really got screwed over by the company they were working with. It sounded like a learning experience, both in design and business skills.
To people commenting on this thread, if you really want something, go ahead and design a product that’s suitable for mass mfg (injection molding, extrusion, minimum mill passes, etc), estimate how much it might cost, and see if there’s any money to be made. If there is, draw up a solid business plan (why teams need it, how much it will cost, how much investment it will take, how much money there is to be made, etc), and talk to people. If it really will make them money, businesses will sometimes listen.
Step 1: Assemble VersaPlanetary with “VersaEncoder Stage” and mount on robot.
Done.
This also has the benefit of not requiring a male style encoder as in your method. The downside is, I imagine you would be stuck with whatever kind of encoder Vex wanted to use.
Here is a photo of a very clean example of mounting an encoder in this manner. You are basically using the end of the shaft as a collet. Very ingenious and easy to do with the simplest of tools.
Here’s a new one: Hardware to make 1" tube an FRC “standard” for drive shafts.
Currently 1/2" hex bar is very popular for torque carrying shafts because it’s common to many FRC parts. Unfortunately, you quickly find that 1/2" 7075 aluminum is pretty flimsy if you overhang the load by more than an inch or so, or if the angle of twist is important. A 1" OD x 1/16" wall aluminum tube is easy to source, about the same weight as 1/2" hex, 2.5 times as stiff in bending and torsion, fits through a 1.125" bore wheel*. Thicker tube can be used for even higher stiffness and strength. There are also plenty of lightweight pillowblock bearings available for 1" shafts.
If someone made a two piece hub that clamped tightly enough on a 1" tube to transfer torque, and had a 1/2" hex bore and/or a versahub/AM bolt pattern, it would enable teams to use 1" tubes for drive shafts where the loads would twist 1/2" hex bar (dual chain lifts, four bar linkages, roller intakes etc).
…and go.
*Vex Wheels anyway. AM HiGrip wheels are actually 0.96" bore at their smallest, so they wouldn’t work on the shaft without modification
As a team that does absolutely terrible things to gearboxes and output shafts with overhung loags, we would totally buy these and likely in large quantities.
The same thing I’ve answered on surveys the past couple years: cycloidal gearboxes. Would be the biggest game changer in FRC design since COTS planetaries became common.
Also, more support for keyed round shaft. The constant shortage of hex bearings and not having a hex broach can be quite a pain. We do just fine with keyed shaft, but more and more new products come with hex output shafts.
A thunderhex with a standarized hub size, as well as bearings with proper mounting plates.
A gearbox with a modular case of some sort.
A special versaframe optimized for belt or chain in tube drive systems.
I know that my team actually did develop a product that we would he loved to market how ever we got stuck in case manufacturering. Now that we have cnc we can finally look in to reviving the project.
It was something we called a supertester. An electrical testing device we designed. I know we sold one kit in the past to 971.
