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Intake rollers

Guide 4

Intakes stall more than any other mechanism. A piece wedges and the motor sits at its current limit until the driver reacts.

What a jam does

Example inputs; the calculator updates these with yours. Imperial first, metric in parentheses.

Roller: 7.5 in·lb(0.84 N·m at 30 A)Grip on the piece:7.5 lbf (33 N)jammedagainst a stopRoller hex: 8.5 lbf per corner (38 N)30 A the whole jam = 75% of a 40 A breakerBelt: 5.3 lbf (24 N)
appliedcalculatedwatchfailure point

Example inputs from the calculator defaults. Losses ignored.

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A jammed game piece stalls the motor; the bore and breaker take it

  • Inputs
  • Joint
  • Calc
  • Check
  • Motor type and quantity
  • Current limit

Motor

  • Motor torque at limit and stall
  • Free speed
  • Calc
  • Driver and driven teeth
  • Belt width

Belt reduction

  • Belt tension
  • Pass or fail
  • Check
  • Shaft length
  • Pulley material and bore type

Roller shaft

  • Bore corner force
  • Pass or fail
  • Check
  • Roller diameter
  • Compression on the piece

Rollers

  • Surface speed
  • Pull force at stall
  • Calc
  • Jam duration
  • Breaker size

Jammed game piece

  • Stall current draw
  • Breaker load over the jam
  • Check

What it teaches

A stall is a normal operating state for an intake, so every part must survive it continuously.

Session hook

Jam a piece on the bench and time how long until the driver would notice. Plug that into jam duration.

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