There should be no appreciable difference in friction between the older Quadrature Encoders and the new V5 Rotation Sensors. The V5 Rotation Sensors should freely spin and be acceptable for use as follower / tracking wheels.
The high friction seen on some of the initial V5 Rotation Sensors that shipped out was the result of a manufacturing issue that we have corrected.
As a result of resolving that issue, we created an easy go/no go test to verify whether the friction of the V5 Rotation Sensor is acceptable:
Mount the V5 Rotation Sensor onto a shaft. Hold the shaft parallel with the ground
Lift up / rotate the V5 Rotation Sensor 90° until the body of the sensor is at either a 9 or 3 O’clock position (the long axis of the sensor body should be parallel with the ground)
Let go of the sensor. The weight of the sensor alone shall be sufficient to cause the sensor to freely fall down to a 6 O’clock position (long axis of the sensor should now point at the ground).
Here’s a video of a V5 Rotation Sensor passing this test:
If anyone purchased a V5 Rotation Sensor that has high enough friction to fail this test, please contact VEX Support and we’ll make this right.
Is there any way that this could be corrected on sensors that have already been sent out? Because this has got me feeling like I paid $40 for a piece of beta hardware…
Let me tell you the tale, its a tale as old as time. Boy teaches robotics, boy orders vex workcell and it arrives in his classroom. Boy gets sick and a substitute is in his classroom for a couple days. Boy returns and finds his work cell packaging in this state. Boy wonders if something is missing.
