Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
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Shaft Collar

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shaftcollardank
Entry ID #: 1917
Created: Thu, Dec 3, 2015 1:48 PM

Introduction: Vex robots are superior in most robotics competitions, but they also have an Achilles heal, the shaft collar. Frequently while performing a task shaft collars shake loose and cause the robot to fail, not only does it hinder the robot, but also it damages tools and shafts, rendering them useless. As a team we took on this challenge to fix a simple, yet important part of the robot. Explanation: The new part is just an improvement on an old one. The shaft collar was redesigned to have a square hole (to match the geometry of the shaft). It also requires no tools, making it much more efficient in the overall construction of the robot. On the wheels it fits more snug and in turn keeps the wheels more in line when driving. Explanation: Inventor was where the original design was created, but as we continued through the project we began to use fusion instead. Its ability to manipulate objects made it easy to create two parts to fit together perfectly. Conclusion: This project taught us how to use the design process to solve a problem, and also how to work well in a team situation. It taught us all how to be responsible for our part in a project, and how to be a good teammate. Fusion and inventor are always changing and each of us will use them in the future. The three of us want to go into various fields in engineering, and having a knowledge of these CADD systems can put us ahead. With inventor and fusion in regards to a robotics team it gave us the advantage of building a part to increase performance, and to be more competitive than other groups. The programs also allow us to see the robot built and various issues before we build it in person. As stated earlier all of us plan on going into engineering, and with this knowledge on design software we already have skills most do not. Luke in particular plans to be a mechanical engineer/entrepreneur and if he can use this software and develop custom parts he can be a competitive man in his field.

Files

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Links / Videos

Power point Presentation

This is a video of the powerpoint we created for this project

Comments

   shaftcollardank on 01/05/2016

Our shaft collar contains a male and female part, and functions similar to Legos. The male part tapers to be slightly bigger than the female and keeps them locked together very tight. We have yet to have one shake off, the failures we have seen have come from misuse and misprints. The wonderful thing about these shaft collars is that they keep parts on with very little "wiggle" room. Please check out our video.

   Pablofive on 01/04/2016

My Robotics team also has a lot of trouble with this, and it is really annoying to have to take a shaft out to be able to put a shaft collar on. However, what is preventing the two halves from coming apart? Wouldn't shaking also cause these shaft collars to pop apart?

   puzzler7 on 12/06/2015

This is a great idea! I love that you don't need access to one of the ends of the shaft to put on the collar. However, I have a few questions. You mentioned that the original shaft collars shake loose. How do these shaft collars prevent that? Also, do these shaft collars hold an object in place on the shaft? To put them together, as far as I can see, you would need to slide the halves toward each other down the shaft. To hold a wheel in place, you would not want the shaft collar to be able to slide.