I’m new to the world of VEX, and have a basic question … please bear with me.
I want to create a simple raise-and-lower arm, driven by a standard VEX motor. When the arm reaches either end of its range of motion, I want to use a limit switch to inhibit the motor drive, so that there are no stripped gears, broken clutches, etc., regardless of what the idiot operator is doing with the controls. Is this possible without programming? I have the programming kit, but want to stick with remote control for now.
Thought of using the servo, which is easy enough. But I want to be able to gear it down for relatively slow movement, without losing range of motion in the process. That’s why I am pursuing the motor approach.
I’m sure that this is not a unique issue, but a relevant thread didn’t jump out at me.
Yes, this is easy. The default program in the VEX Microcontroller is already set up for limit switches on motors 4-7. Have a look at Inventor’s Guide, pages 5.8-5.10, for information on which input port is used to limit which motor/direction.
No problem! And I didn’t mean to imply that you hadn’t done your homework - there are a lot of details in the guide, and there is no way anybody will absorb it all the first time through.
For my first year using Vex, I remember thinking “it sure would be great if limit switches were supported by the default program”. It wasn’t till I was looking through the guide for something unrelated that I even noticed this!