Hey, as i’m sure many of you have experience…The clutches provided in the kit is very easily stripped. I mean, i had the square bot gear configuration and i pushed a 1/4 full 2liter bottle and it stripped. Yes i know that gear ratio isn’t right for pushing but i don’t think it should be that easily stripped. But what other material alternatives are thier? You could do some sort of metal or alluminum clutch but those are pricy and probably not worth the effort. So what do you think? Post your material ideas and any new design ideas too!
I have never stripped a clutch, but they do need better clutches from the amount of people that say they are stripping. I orginally thought that I needed them for a gear changer, but I found a way around it. But I do think there should be a better clutch.
Adding metal inserts to the clutches would be the most cost efficient way to solve it.
although i dont usually use clutches, just because they get in the way, i have never stripped one, although i have stripped a gear.
Just out of couriosity…Could the people that said “no” please post why they feel that way?
i really dont think they need to redesign them. they are there so your motor doesnt strip out. i think they should just sell replacment ones.
They already do. 
http://www.vexlabs.com/vex-robotics-motion-parts.shtml
From all my experience in Vex, I have never stripped a motor clutch. It’s all how you gear everything. On the Vex Triple Play robot I built, I used a 1:1 gear ratio, with a 2 motor, 6WD chassis. This robot became a “public relations” robot of sorts that I used when I traveled to various places to promote Vex and FIRST. During this, I had let tons of people drive this robot around, and it was virtually unbreakable. This was a robot you could give to someone, walk away, and not worry about someone breaking it. And no matter how hard people would drive it, it never stripped a gear or clutch, and it only snapped chain a handful of times. (As in little kids trying to pick up five mini-tetras at once. :p)
i meant like in stores, some people cant order online
on every vex bot i’ve ever built, i have never even had a clutch slip, and my team puts some abuse into those thngs.
The design of the clutch is intended to protect the motor, if it is popping then you’re probably doing something which would have damaged the internal motor-gearing.
As said by several users above, I have never had a problem with clutches popping (except when I was doing something silly, which I KNEW was silly, like trying to lift a chair with a robot arm).
We will further investigate the clutch design, and try to determine if they are popping in odd-situations. However this seems like it is not a high priority.
Thanks for your feedback!
JV
I am the leader of a club that has 6 kits in use. We have had multiple problems with clutches failing. I took one apart- they are designed where one toothed disk presses against another due to pressure from an internal spring. When the torque is too great, the disks should slip, and a clicking sound will be heard as the teeth disengage/re-engage on the disks. Some of the clutches in our 6 kits have failed where, rather than slipping, the square hole for one of the shafts gets rounded-out. At that point the clutch is trash.
I emailed Vex Labs raising this issue a while back, but they did not reply.
I have not had any clutches fail nor “round out” - even after several competitions and bot varieties. There is always a first time though and that is to be expected as I push the limits of VEX. Nevertheless, I think R & D time at VEX labs would be better spent adding new product ideas to the VEX line. This stuff is so much fun, I am re-living my second, third, and fourth childhood.
EJ
It is apparent that clutches, when not properly used, do “pop”. I have never had this problem, but my team did a vex robotics camp for elementary and middle schoolers and several clutches were stripped and useless. This was our first camp, and I’m sure we’ll make sure that at the next one they are aware of the consequences of trying to make a motor do something it shouldn’t (or hold onto a wheel when the motor is turning, which one team did and completely screwed up 2 of the clutches). All you need to do is make sure that the people using the parts know how to handle them. I’m sure most of you have likely had problems in the past with the smaller screws for the motors. They like to strip as well, but if you’re careful they won’t.
I’ve never had problems with the clutches stripping, but one thing I would like to see in the future is a small collar screw built into them so that we could fix a drive shaft to the clutch. Drive shafts have a tendency to fall out, which often requires lots of extra work & parts to secure them.
vex needs to re think about the cluch i just stript it so:mad:
I popped open a clutch I stripped and I found a metal spring inside. Is that the metal insert you are talking about?
No. The inner part of the clutch where you put the axle in, that is now green, could have a thin layer of metal, it would then atleast prolong the life of the clutch longer then it is now. You would be able to physically see it.
even if vex labs redesigned the clutch to make it more durable they would need to make their motors better too otherwise you would just strip out the motor gears instead of the clutch
you can just run the motors without the clutch this would eliminate any clutch problems but you will probally strip a gear in the motor
i used the cluches but didn’t need them. When the robot is on or off, the motors spin freely when you don’t put power to them, but listen here, im using a 1:1 ratio. could be different for u guys
I pushed about 30 pounds with 2 motors and my cluches did not slip nor strip.