1:1 Motor Cartridge
ameador
Entry ID #: 8955
Created: Tue, Dec 8, 2020 8:02 AM
We designed the 1:1 motor cartridge for the purpose of simplifying the high-speed mechanisms which often end up being used in VRC robots. New teams tend to struggle when they build their first flywheel and may refrain from ever building a high-speed mechanism again, closing the door for a valuable learning opportunity. The impact of friction, the pain of designing multistage gear trains, and the restriction of parts prevents teams from exploring designs that utilize high speeds in order to be effective. This simple cartridge provides a simple solution to these problems. The 1:1 motor cartridge has several potential utilities. This part is meant to be an addition to the already existing family of motor cartridges. It is designed to be easily swapped in-and-out of the motor, just as easily as the other cartridges available. This cartridge gives VEX teams more control over their design. It provides room for optimization by introducing new opportunities for gearing, potential for more space and weight-efficient designs, reducing friction, and eliminating backlash. Previously, flywheels had to be geared with one or two stages of gears. More stages introduce extra backlash and friction since there are multiple shafts and gears meshing creating extra connections that may be loose or resistive and add weight. In addition to this, it also replaces the gears present in the current motor cartridges 1- or 2-stage planetary gear sets, which also have a significant amount of backlash and weight. This cartridge could most easily be integrated into a flywheel system and replace the traditional gear train with a direct connection from the flywheel to the motor output, allowing for lowered weight and simplification of the system. This cartridge has the capability to greatly simplify robot design.
