some things that need to be metal

VEX V5 General Discussion New Product Ideas
1

Here are a few things that should be metal.

1.The tank tread should be metal, I’m tired of trying to separate the links and always breaking them because they are plastic.

2.There seems to be a problem with the chain in the sprocket and chain kit breaking all the time.
https://vexforum.com/t/answered-chain-breaking/12898/1
[https://vexforum.com/t/chain-breaking/12527/1
The chain should be made out of metal too.

3.Also I keep striping the square hole in the gears. The square hole should be made out of metal but keep the teeth plastic because if they were metal it would require lubrication all the time.

It would be worth the extra money to keep from breaking these parts all the time.:)](https://vexforum.com/t/chain-breaking/12527/1)

2

i agree with 2 and 3 (well obviously two seeing that i started one of those threads), but I don’t agree with 1. The reason being the metal would have low traction and it would scratch up the floor (unless your on carpet). If yoy were thinking that they would be metal coated in some sort of rubber then that would be great.

3

The treads are fine, sure it’s a little work to take them apart but just be careful. A little metal insert molded into the platic gear would be grat too. The chain would still be week even if it was metal, it’s really hard to make something that will stand up to the forces that small.

4

ok i see what you mean about the tracks.
so what do you guys use to separate the links?

5

my finger nail:)

if any of these things need to be metal in my opinion it would have to be the chain. just today i ran a low torque ration to lift a softball, on the firt lift it snaped and shot through the air!!! it seems that any stronger than normal forces would break them.

~Alex~

6

I use my finger nails and just a bit of caution and I have never broken a link yet.

Maybe you just need to hold you tongue in the right spot… :slight_smile:

7

i think i broke one of the tank tread links. but i can say that i’ve broken at least 5-7 of the chain, because it is so weak.

8

The only time I ever broke tread was when I droped it on the ground.

9

Treads are so sturdy! The plastic makes less of a sound as metal would.

metal would sound like a garage door opening.

well…maybe a smaller version.

10

Maybe if the treads were some kind of knobby rubber like the pic I attached?
because the Vex treads have very little traction.
track.jpg

11

I would like the gears to be made of metal. Our team used many gears, and often the space that the axle went through would get worn down to the point that it was un-useable.

12

Heres the gear torque specs
https://vexforum.com/t/vex-gear/12297/1
as you can see the square hole will fail under a load of approximately 33 in lbs of load torque.:frowning:

13

Uhh, NO!
Listen if everyone in the world had metal fingernails the world would be a terrible place! People would sharpen the and all not to mention that my mom is a dental hygenist (teeth person like a dentist just not paid as much) and who would want someone elses metal in thier mouth? (no offence to braces and orthodontists)

14

I use one of the steel washers, they fit in between the link connections well

15

I think that gears with a metal square hole is a very good idea.

16

the problem with all metal treads would be getting them apart without bending them. I use my fingernail also to pry the links apart. the only link our team ever broke(tank tread)was when the tread fell off the table it was on. I like the thought of a metal/plastic hybrid gear

17

The only way you could make metal treads would be to make them similar to bike chain, in that you have a master link that you slide the pin in or out of to seperate the tread. If you did that it would get much harder to change the tread lengths.