This is our first year doing swerve (MK4i), and currently, we are using 8 falcons to run it. We have had no major issues with the falcons or the swerve, but we don’t have much backup if we do. The falcons are from 2020 and 2022. Considering how difficult it is to get falcons, I am unsure if we can replace them if needed. We did get 4 new falcons, although they all have wobbly shafts, so we are hesitant to use them. We are maintaining the swerve modules but not the falcons. Could we run the same 8 falcon swerve next year or should we swap to a full neo swerve?
On a side note, does anyone have a fix for the wobbly shafts? Or has vex said anything about it yet?
My team did not have bad experiences with wobbly shafts on our belt and geared swerve x. If you are using mk4i the top hole is the correct size for a bearing to double support the shaft.
If you have V3’s I would recommend checking the shaft/rotor spline interface for fretting Fretting - Wikipedia
If you can add an appropriate spline grease they will probably last for another season just fine.
As for V1 and V2 motors we have several that have lasted 2-3 seasons without issue.
But the reality is I would expect there to be more options for FRC legal brushless motors or revisions to fix known issues with existing motors and supply chains in the near future (2024 & 2025 seasons) so the shortages probably won’t be an issue much longer and you will have more choice.
We started to use swerves last year off-season. Which is about 9 competitions. Since then we have been using the same V2 Falcons and swerves. We didn’t have any trouble with the motors or the swerves.
The only change we made from the original is using a short shaft. Actually, the reason for this is to not use too many spacers in the shaft and also we didn’t get motor spacers. This may help a lot in reducing the wobbling in the shafts.