If you want to intake a rigid object, you need either squishy, compliant wheels or a flexible, compliant mechanism. This is the reason why these wheels are really popular in VRC, FTC, FRC, etc.
If you want to intake squishy, flexible game objects, you can use rigid wheels.
Essentially, the optimal combination of trying to intake something is at least one item (either the intake mechanism or the object) must be squishy.
You’ll likely not want to use the balloon tires for drive train wheels, as they may not be accurate in autonomous.
Thanks for the explanation. Having never seen them before, I didn’t know how squishy they were. It sounds like they are very compliant however, and they are something I could definitely see a lot of uses for. I thought they were just marginally squishier than the old tires, so that’s why I was unsure about the practicality of them. I’m looking forward to seeing teams use them.
In the new kits, there are gears called “hybrid gears” and they are presumably very useful considering the number that is given to you in a kit. My question is though, what is a hybrid gear, and what makes it so useful?
Exactly. The new VEX IQ hybrid gears are combination spur and bevel gears. While the prior VEX GO Hybrid Gears were a larger gear pitch (16DP) in order to decrease the odds that gears could skip teeth without washers/spacers, the new VEX IQ ones are available in the standard 24DP gear pitch that is used in VEX IQ.
You can mesh the spur portion of the IQ hybrid gears with any other spur / rack / worm gear in the IQ system, and you can mesh the bevel portion of the IQ hybrid gear with any other IQ hybrid gear.
12, 24, and 36 Tooth hybrid gears will be available in the new 2nd generation IQ Competition Kit, and 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 Tooth hybrid gears will be available in the pending IQ Hybrid Gear Pack that will be available for separate sale later this year.
According to this topic on VEX IQ Gen 2, it will be at a later unspecified date, probably near the end of the season, but maybe later (possibly, but probably not earlier).
If it helps, for people buying the entire kit, in August it
EDIT: I forgot to include this in my original post:
This post also has some vague details on the availability of individual components.
That piece is legal, and I mainly foresee it being useful for a single flywheel shooter hood, since it is too small for a whole lot else. I could also see it used as a floor or a ramp for small game objects though.
If you were wondering about the ones on the Pitching In field though, those are illegal to use on a robot.
These are PET sheets that are legal for competition use. As far as I am aware, they are currently only available in the IQ Gen 2 Competition Add On kit.
Though I have made some Hero Robots out of the new kits, I have yet to actually use these sheets.
There are 3 sizes as you can see. 2x12, 6x6, & 6x12. I’d imagine you are correct with a flywheel hood, I’ve proved that concept already, but I think that may be one of the least beneficial uses for them. These parts essentially add a semi-rigid part to the IQ ecosystem. Mount the 2x12 across 6x holes and you have a semi-rigid bump that wants to hold it’s shape, but will flex out of the way when given enough persuasion.
I’m excited to see how these parts are used in the future.
Vex, Question to you, recent news I heard china went into lock down, and I know that china is where all vex gen two is coming from. Is there any hold up or we arew perfectly fine.
. Don’t hold your breath!
