We are the Charging Champions, an FRC rookie team from Southern California. We are currently building a practice robot to gear up for the upcoming season and needed the following parts urgently. It seems like Vex and other suppliers do not have these parts in stock. Here are the parts:
3/8" hex to 1/2" hex adapter
11t gear with with 12t center distance
If any team in the area (Southern California) has either of these and is able to loan these parts out temporarily or sell them, we would greatly appreciate it!
For the hex adapter you may have some luck 3D printing it depending on the loads involved. Print it so that it is a tight press fit on both the 3/8 hex and the 1/2 hex. If there is a significant length of hex involved you may be surprised how well it holds up, especially since this is not a competition critical component.
For the hex adapter, you can cut a piece of 1/16" x 1/2" aluminum bar to about 2-1/2" long, and bend/wrap/beat it around a 3/8" hex shaft until it fits in the 1/2" hex bore.
This sounds really, really sketchy. It could work, but I would be really concerned about concentricity if you need this for something like a gear mesh. A really clever idea if you’re in a pinch, though.
I was thinking this was going to a wheel or manipulator where a few thousandths of an inch wouldn’t matter much. Agreed - I would not use this to drive a gear!
I would also do the beating against a spare bit of steel 3/8" shaft, not the one I was planning to use in the robot.
Oh, do you have enough clearance for something like this?
I am the captain of team 1836, the Milkenknights in southern california (Los Angeles sf valley area). We love working with other teams and would be more than happy to help you out. I’m not totally sure what parts and things like that we can give/loan to you, but if you shoot me a pm with some more info I’m sure we can help you out.