So our team is building a hook intake and we can pick up the rings directly from the ground. We put a 2.5 inch screw into pillow block. We ran into a problem that after we put the axle for the intake into a 600rpm blue motor, the chain is pretty loose but when we run the intake the axle started bending for some reason. The chain is not tight enough for us to score. Appreciate any help.
can you put it in a picture? If your axle is really wide, that’s your problem; it has more room to bend. If the axle isn’t long, I don’t know how to help you. Also, are you using a regular shaft or a HS shaft? regular shafts bend a lot more easily.
Use a high stength axle.
What’s probably happening is the pressure from the rings is pulling the axles towards each other.
So it happened after we switch to a blue motor. The green motor we used was super slow
but what axle type are you using? I don’t think speed matters, can I get a picture of the intake?
The issue might be happening because you’re using a low strength shaft. You would also have to potentially take part of the chain off to make it shorter and more taut. A picture of the issue would be helpful too.
Can you explain how the pressure from the rings is pulling the axles towards each other?
Are hood intakes also susceptible?
We are using a low strength shaft because we don’t have any HS shaft. I think it might be because the 600rpm have less torque maybe?
Well, a ring is kind of heavy. So when the hook intake picks it up, gravity naturally acts on the ring. This results in either the chain getting pushed down or the chain with the hook getting pulled back, both of which tension the chain and pull the axles towards each other.
Seeing as hood intakes usualy have a plastic/metal sheet on the bottom with flex wheel rollers on top of the ring, this is much, much less of a problem for them.
I’d really recommend you use high strength axles instead, as for VEX those HS axles and zip ties are considered the 2 most indestructable parts.
oh. Then just move the support close to the sprocket and there shouldn’t be a problem!
But that would affect our bot. The goal won’t be far enough inside the bot to score.
Oh. Then i don’t know what to tell you. Maybe add spacers (like the long ones) to at least limit it? maybe?
Thank you. I’ll do what I can