Ratcheted Flywheel for Endgame?

Hey folks!

My team and I have a bit of a dilemma. We’ve currently got two motors being used for our flywheel and the other six motors on other mechanisms. So, we were thinking: could we ratchet one of the motors on the flywheel so that when it spins in reverse we could activate our endgame mech? Our thought process here is that since we can’t spare another motor (other than to move to a one-motor flywheel), and seeing as to how we’re never going to need to spin our flywheel in reverse during actual gameplay, if we add a ratchet to the flywheel mechanism, maybe we can use the strength of one of the motors to also power endgame at the very end, but not run it at any point in time beforehand.

(I’ve never really heard of or considered a ratchet in the context of VEX prior to this season, and my research on the topic is minimal—sorry in advance if my descriptions are vague or unclear! Moreover, if I have anything wrong or am unaware of anything, please do correct me, I would greatly appreciate it!)

One of our sister teams currently has a working ratchet on their flywheel, but its only purpose is to prevent the flywheel from spinning in the opposite direction (free spinning main gear on the same axle as a sprocket with an internal arm to block clockwise spinning). We were thinking of adding a similar ratchet onto one of our flywheel motors, however, when we mentioned it, a sister team member said it might work differently since we’re using a flywheel with two motors (whereas they’re using only one), and would therefore have to add different components to our build.

My question is does this actually make a difference, and what would be the consequences of that difference, because we don’t necessarily need more speed or torque for the endgame mechanism that we will be powering through the ratcheted gear. Additionally, in your opinion, would it just be better to shift from a two-motor flywheel to a one-motor flywheel and move one motor over to power the endgame mech instead of messing around with a ratchet or should we go for the ratchet? Because while it certainly seems doable, we want to a) prevent any potential technical issues it poses, b) maintain sizing constraints, and c) save our programmer from mental breakdowns over reprogramming stuff lol (esp bc first comp is Sunday :clown_face:)

TL;DR can we ratchet a two-motor flywheel to power an endgame mechanism, and what would we need to keep in mind if we were to do so?

Any opinions or advice you can spare is greatly appreciated! ^^

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Ofc you can, there are plenty of examples videos of this,
My favorite one is this

In your application, once the motors are reverse. The ratchet would slip and not send power to the flywheel, however your flywheel will continue spinning because it’s disconnected from power. Now the shaft where the ratchet is connected would still have power, so simply connect some gears to it and now you have two systems running off 1 motor or motor group. If you want the other system to receive power in a specific direction, add another ratchet.

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The Winch and Pully kit has a vex legal rachet gear and pawl.

image

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I have been building a 2 motor ratcheting flywheel but making it spin the intake. its not hard to do and if you would like I can send pictures but be prepared half my shop already wants to kill me with the sounds it makes. I’m also guessing your doing this because you don’t have pneumatics?

I’m using a ratchet on my two motor flywheel as well to activate endgame, I’ll send you a picture at the end of school



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I just dropped a new video of a new passive ratchet design.

That said… I’d go to a 1 motor flywheel.

ratchet? pto? differential? (Although diff requires two but you get the point)

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I think it’s a joke lol

Sorry if I misunderstood your question, but logically speaking you really don’t need a ratchet for this at all. Since it will we end game, i wouldn’t matter if your flywheel went in reverse anyway. You could just spin both motors in reverse together anyway, just make sure you don’t do it early. Anyhow, a ratchet would work generally the same on a two motor system as a one motor system anyway so long as it is added at the end of the gear train. Sorry for the late response btw.

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