So we have a shooting mechanism that is driven by a Neo motor and a 4:1 gear reduction gearbox from Andymark. The mechanism was working fine and shot fine, however one day we came to run the shooting mechanism and the motor/gearbox didn’t run, like it didn’t turn. We double checked the electrical connections, they were all intact and fine. The Spark Max motor is configured to brushless coast. We then decide to take off the motor from the gearbox, and the Neo motor ran fine, leading us to believe that the problem is in the gearbox.
I have no idea what the problem on the gearbox might be as it was running fine just a few days prior. It is properly greased and installed. One of the members suggested it might be the press fitted gear on the shaft of the Neo motor. We’re already planning on purchasing a Neo motor. Any suggestions as to what may be happening?
Pictures! It’s impossible for us to contribute anything past speculation without seeing what’s going on.
What gearbox is it? What do the gears look like? Can you spin the gears by hand?
Clearly there is something wrong with the gearbox. Something could have gotten in them and jammed them up, they could have stripped themselves, or the connection between the motor and gearbox could be off. However, without more information and pictures we are just guessing.
As an update Ive managed to locate the problem. In the picture below it shows the press fit gear on the shaft of the motor. It can rotate freely, so that means that although the shaft of the motor moves, the gear doesn’t. I don’t understand how this happened as we’ve had the motor running fine a few days prior.
The only explanation I can come up with is that either the gear or the the shaft wore out due to friction causing slack. Is there a better way to fit on a gear? We’re already planning on buying a new motor and gearbox just in case anything like this happens again and we need a quick fix. However, I’m afraid that the same thing will happen if we replace the motor with another one or the gear with another one. The same mechanism is used for the CIM motors we have on our robot, and those haven’t failed us. I’ve also attached a picture of the whole shooting mechanism if that will help in any way.
Was the gear a press fit when you installed it i.e. it took effort to press the gear onto the shaft? Did it require more effort to press on than the other gears? Will the gear come off the shaft easily now? Could the gear have cracked or split?
My guess is that the gear split after some time. Shine a bright light on it and look for a crack. The bottom of one of the “valleys” between the gear teeth are likely locations.
