What is the difference between nylon and plastic spacers?

VEX V5 General Discussion Technical Discussion
1

As a team, we have always used the black spacers, but were looking at buying the nylon ones, as they appeared to have greater variety. However, I am concerned that they will be more rubbery, and want to know if they will cause friction when used between a spinning gear and a fixed metal plate. Also, I am concerned about their size. Another forum noted that they were larger, and I was concerned that they would contact nearby gears. I have illustrated below:


       Gear A    12 tooth pinion
__________|_________  __|__
__________|_________||__|__|
Spacer->XX|XX  _________|__________
Here--->XX|XX|__________|__________|
        __|__        Gear A
       |__|__|   
     12 tooth pinion

The spacer must fit in the same space occupied by the 12 tooth pinion NOT including the teeth. It must fit in that space without at all contacting ‘Gear A.’ Right now, we are running very low on spacers and frequently work with gear ratios similar to the one above. If someone could tell me whether these spacers will fit, I would very much appreciate it. Also, If there is anything else I should know about them that makes them more or less effective, please tell me.

Thank you.

2

If the spacer is in the middle not rubbing against the outer metal there is absolutely no difference between the black and white nylon spacers. The diameter is different and forces you to use the black ones at times.

The thickness of the black ones are in different widths from the white ones which makes them not be as interchangeable as you would like.

but feel free to use the black ones in the configuration you pictured above with such beautiful ascii art! Always a fan of ASCII art.

3

I think that nylon spacers are way more useful than the black spacers. Like Team80 mentioned you sometimes are forced to use the black ones because they have a smaller diameter. However, the Nylon spacers’ larger diameter allows you to use them on structural components without the spacer billowing outward and shortening due to the screw’s holding force. Also, the Nylon spacers come in exact inch sizes (1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2") that allow you to space metal to line up with other pieces. The black spacers are not in sizes that will allow you to offset metal by exactly 1/4" in or 1/2".