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Are there any basic hints and tips to designing custom gearboxes?
I was planning a 2 stage reduction of 3:1 - 3:1 with the Technobots MOD1 gears, 12 tooth and 36 tooth.
Will I need bearings, how big should the walls be, do you bolt the gearbox together, how can you save weight etc
I am guessing you aught to have this kind of thing CNC'd so if there is any companies or people who will accept a solidworks file let me know :)
Thanks in advance
make sure you use decent shafts bearings are a must or bushings depending on a few things
it will probably make things easier if the gear boxes can be assembled outside of the robot so bolting together will help (just make sure the bolts and supports aren't going to get in the way)
ali is probably your best bet and you could also use say 10mm which has been pocketed (other people will advise better on thickness)
and alot of companies use solidworks or accept the many file types you can save your model as
hope this helps :)
Its going to be expensive to have them made if you dont have access to a lathe or mill yourself.
The technician at my university will do it if I ask nicely. They will do it when they have time so as long as I give them it long before I actually need them then I can get almost anything made.
What would people say to having them milled from blocks of nylon rather than Alu so that I don't have to worry about bearings, or could you make them from nylon and put the bearings in anyway?
Depending on application, but I have good experience with steel as main gearboxplates.
Has to do with my preference for dead-axles.
Fairly simple too. I calculate gearratio, talk to the right people, and get a set of lasercut 5mm thick steel plates at the front door.
Get the right gears from my suppliers (Technobots is one), adapt them to bushing or bearing (prefer bushing, lighter and cheaper for me)
Take out the silversteel axles from my stock, grind those to length, drill and tap the right holes, turn the right spacers and start building up.
The more parts I can weld together the more I like it.
But if money allows, I prefer a ready to use motor/gearbox.
That is why I bought Gimson GR01's, and am happy with them.
We currently use 4 GR-01's in conker and they are superb but they just cant put out the same power as the Speed 900's. Satanix runs of 2 of them and he was bashing Conker around the arena like I had no drive at all. They are just punchier and more powerful; given the right ratio.
I know perfectly what gearbox Satanix 1.666 uses.
MSR 12-72 to a 130mm wheel.
Steel support plate welded in the chassis.
15mm silversteel dead axle, bolted in with M8 bolts.
Bronze 15-22-30 bushing
Single stage 6-1 gearratio. Welded on Z12 Mod1 gear on the motor, custom ali Z72 mod 1 on the wheel.
Full HDPE wheel, screwed and carpet-taped bike wheel rubber running surface.
Why do I know...
I knew most people would know, there are few secrets in the pits :)
And you probably helped/did build Satanix would be my guess. But the point still stands. 4x GR01s and 2x S900 = no contest, S900's every time. Why do you think I ended up down the pit :crazy:
Mario did build them
My prefered method is machining a gearbox from a billet of aluminium, including bearings into the sections in the billet, i find steel heavy, and plastic to soft for a gearbox housing, and i prefer to have live axles. Each to there own i guess... 360's disc and gearbox are made like that, as are ploughbots drive box's, all the old whyachi stuff and a few other robots out there
Build of my selfwrighter gearbox for example; viewtopic.php?f=240&t=2810
But its totaly your preferance.