Our team is trying to speed up our drive. We are using 600 rpm motors geared down, but they are overheating after 2-3 minutes. Rather than rebuilding our gear setup, would simply limiting the motor velocity in the program prevent overheating or should we just rebuild?
Reducing the speed might help with overheating, a better bet would probably be to lower the maximum motor current from the default value of 2.5A - in VEXcode c++ you can do this with a call to motor::setMaxTorque.
Better still would be to have a drivetrain that’s physically capable of running at the maximum current for more than a few minutes without overheating - as the function name implies, reducing the maximum current will reduce the available torque.
You should also check your drivetrain for sources of friction, the problem might be a slightly bent shaft or a couple of parts rubbing together rather than your current gear ratio being inherently inviable.
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The “right” way to solve this problem is mechanically, by reducing friction or having a less aggressive ratio. I doubt that slowing down the motors or reducing their current with code will really help all that much, and it will negatively impact the power of your drive.
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If you gave us pictures to work with or explained what wheel size and gear ratio you have, we could provide advice as to whether or not your ratio is viable as-is and identify if the problem is some build quality thing…
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Make sure you take a fan and a can of compressed air to your competitions. Be vigilant in checking temps. And cool it down after every match.
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Through the fake vents?
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