HS-LS Shaft Converter
puzzler7
Entry ID #: 3637
Created: Wed, Jan 11, 2017 11:22 AM
High Strength hardware is one of the most useful Vex products, allowing for extremely high torque applications that would turn low strength gears into wheels and low strength axles into drill bits. However, the greatest flaw of high strength hardware is that it requires low strength hardware to be used. As high strength shafts cannot be driven directly, they must be driven by a high strength gear driven by a gear driven by a low strength axle, which is a cumbersome workaround which introduces a weak point into the system. In addition, this increases the space required to use high strength hardware. Instead, you could use the high strength to low strength shaft converter. One end is a male low strength shaft, and the other is a collar for a high strength shaft. The low strength end can be inserted into a motor (see attached picture) or into a shaft coupler. A high strength shaft can then be inserted into the other end, and locked in with a setscrew. Most importantly, this part is just small enough to be placed in between a 393 motor and the metal it is screwed to, effectively making all 393 motors high strength motors. The high strength shaft can then be driven directly by the motor, rather than through a system of gearing. I used Autodesk Inventor Professional 2016 to make this part. I created this part by extruding a .125 in square into an axle, and applying fillets to it to match the existing Vex low strength shafts. I then extruded a collar, lofted the axle to the collar, cut a hole for a setscrew, and threaded it. From this project, I learned how to use more advanced features of Inventor, such as lofts and threading. As I am self-taught, I used to use workarounds using simpler constraints and features, but I’ve begun to branch out into the more advanced features as an easier alternative to the long but simple bypass. I do plan to use Inventor in the future as I plan to continue with my present robotics team. I’ve found that, as the team programmer, complete CAD designs are immensely useful, as I can begin programming the robot with an idea of what the finished product will be, and I no longer have to wait for the builders to complete the robot to begin programming. Moreover, I plan on going to the field of mechanical engineering, and CAD software will be immensely useful in designing and engineering. With 3D printing technology improving, in the foreseeable future, I could use any part that I can design for only the material cost, which would be tremendously useful.
