Parts are the lifeblood of any robot. VIQ is hard because roboteers are not allowed to cut, bend, shape, weld, glue, etc. new parts. Some of the parts are go to items. What is your favorite part to have??
Mine is
I love them, I use them all the time since I have the inability to count, so I’m off by one all the time. These let me fill in the gap. Not only good for Standoffs but also good for corner connectors. You can also use them on the end of axles for ones that are don’t have a heavy load. (Yes they make a version with a square inset, they are hard to get in a large supply)
One thing that would be great to have is the extender that had a 2x pin on the end. Being able to connect two parts AND get a connection for a standoff or corner connector at the same time would be a bonus.
For me, it’s a split between the standoff extenders (love their use for allowing an axle to spin without also having to spin inside a plastic hole with lots of friction generated like the shaft bushings), and metal motor shafts.
The metal motor shafts have made such a difference in properly building a good drivetrain that won’t have things fall out over time. The only issue I run into is getting kids to put washers in the right spots. I think I’m going to be making a poster to put on the wall ahead of next season…
Capped shafts have interesting uses, especially when I realized you can trap them between two pieces (with one washer), and keep the axle from slipping out at all, and it still spins like a dream. Great for some uses with the long capped shaft pack, but way more situational that the metal motor shafts.
I’m assuming when you say ball and socket you are talking about parts 228-2500-1689, 228-2500-1664 or 228-2500-1665. I’ve used them with the shocks to keep things lined up. If you build the classical rack and pinon steering, they can be used to be the tie rod connections.
There are a number of parts that have truss in their name. The strongest build uses triangles as the support. All of the truss parts let you build triangle supported structures. There are a large number of triangle truss plates in the wild (parts of a prior game). They work well in builds with a tower / back.
The VEX ball and socket joint facilitates precise movement while maintaining stability, making it essential for constructing reliable robotic mechanisms. The purpose of a trusses is to distribute load. hope that helps.
