Has anyone used the color coded screws from RoboSource? I’m thinking about switching over to them to make sorting/storage easier, but I’m concerned the color coded paint on them won’t last very long. What has your experience been with them over time? Has the paint chipped, etc.?
I would recommend sorting using the tipping point mobile goals. It allows backward compatibility with your existing screws. It is what I use currently and it is nice.
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All teams I have spoken to that have used them have had nothing but praise for the approach. It helps keep organized and identify if the build is using the right sizes.
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My coach will just take standard non-colored screws, and spray paint the heads certain colors. Red in 3/8, blue is 1/4, yellow is 1/2, green is 3/4, and silver is 1+.
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I don’t know if it’s common, but I can usually tell the length of a screw just by looking at it.
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We’ve only had them for a short period of time, but we haven’t noticed excess wear, chipping. We’ve seen scratches and wear around the socket, but that’s to be expected. They are worth it.
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Go ahead and pick up a pack of the shoulder screws too, they are completely worth it.
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I 100% endorse the color coded screws. The paint chips, but I haven’t seen a single one completely bare or even 1/2 way.
Not having to gues and check screw sizes is awesome - especially at the middle school level, kids can just say “go grab a yellow screw”.
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We have them on our robot from this year. The paint holds up well and they make sorting and making sure you have the right size much easier.
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Pick me, I buy kits for teams, and I harvest out the push pins and the screwes. I replace them with the color screws. An isntant leg up for every team,
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They are worth every penny.
Using these screws doesn’t just make sorting easier it also makes building much faster. If, for example you make one of a mechanism that you need 2 of you can easily see which screw sizes you used originally. I cannot recommend them enough, especially with all the other parts robosource sells for much cheaper than Vex.
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if you’re scared of the price, you could always buy normal screws and spray paint them. but basically in the end, you want color coded screws - it makes your life wayyy easier
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On the topic of spray painting screws, does anyone know if spray painting the threads of a screw has an impact on performance?
I don’t know how much the shopping is for robosource to ship to the UK, so I might just buy screws and spray paint them myself, but I don’t know if it has an impact if it gets on the threads
You don’t want paint on the threads. Buy a base plate, or use a wide C channel to hold a batch of screws, then spray paint the heads only.
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