A problem with one gear, still flying good, but...

[bambino]

Ok, my new BR is flying ok, battery charging ok.
I removed the body, it was not so difficult, but not so easy, I was a bit nervous, I guess.
I built a small body out of a transparency. I think it looks ok, as soon as I have a chance I will put a picture of my modified BR
I blackened the motor cans.

So far so good.

I used silicon based lub, on the motor shaft, the gears and the rotors shaft. Then, I proceeded to fly the BR.
BR was climbing very good when suddenly one of the gears (the small one that is directly connected to the right motor, that is, the one that powers the upper rotor) just got detached. It looks like the lub really worked so the shaft of the gear became too loose. I put it back in its place and it detached again. Again and again. I was lucky not to miss the either the gear or the small circular piece or both.



So I glued the metal shaft to the BR chasis, BUT, for some reason, I missed the small circular piece that is useful to level the gear to make good transmision contact to the next bigger gear. I tried to detach (by force) the gear, the metal shaft, etc, but the glue worked very strongly. So I gave up.

After, all, BR is still flying ok, but as a result of the big mistake I made (I guess this small piece just dropped and I did not notice it) this two gears are making contact with about one milimeter. I wonder how this mishap will reduce the life of the BR.

Well I guess there is nothing I can do anymore, but to enjoy my BR.

By the way, Steve, thanks for the many useful and interesting comments you put in this forum

Thanks all, and sorry for my bad English.

bambino

[Steve Shepard]

I'm a bit confused about just which gears and what small pieces you are talking about.
I think the situation has something to do with the fact that American English is damned hard for non-english-speaking people to learn, in the first place, and it really gets more confusing when we talk about technical things.

We forge ahead ~ ~ The small gears mounted on the motors are called "pinion gears, and the next set of gears are known as "intermediate gears" And then there are the "main gears", which actually drive the rotor shafts.
The pinion gears are just a tight press fit on the motor shaft. Same with the intermediate gears - the pins are just press-fit into the frame. It sounds like those are the gears you mean.

Anyhow, When removing the intermediate gear, you have to be very careful to not enlarge the hole in the frame - you will have a devil of a time with it if you booger it up. The pinion gear can be removed by prying up on it with a dinner fork - squeeze the fork in under the gear, and wiggle until it comes loose.
When you take things apart, it is most important to not lose any tiny washers that may be invisible. They are thrust washers, and their function is to reduce friction, and to take up excess space. I don't know if they come in the replacement gear set - I've never needed to buy one (YET). You might be able to find them in a GOOD hardware store, or in a sewing machine repair shop, or in old computer parts, and other kinds of electro-mechanical device. Or maybe someone on these boards might have a junker you could salvage some from. The BR can run withouit them, but the gear's life will be shortened, as you suspected.
Sorry to hear about your bad fortune ~ You could try this site for spare gear sets :

http://parts.rctoys.com/rc-toys-hobbies/RC%20Helicopter%20Parts/Bladerunner%20Spare%20Parts/



Glad to be of help, if I can, but I really hate it when I am stumped.
Aloha,
Steve

[bambino]

Yes, you are right, my technical english is terrible bad.

That is my main problem, in the first place!! :(


Well, I knew about pinion gears (attached to the motor shaft).


But no, Im not talking about pinion gear. You know my problem is with the intermediate gear. Yeah, I missed the "washer" well, If that means the tiny circular piece that should be under the intermediate gear. Im having a hard time with it. I found it, but it is impossible to put it back in its place.

I glued the shaft of the intermediate gear and now it is impossible to take it out. I do not dare to use a fork, as too much force might break something.

As I said before, BR is flying ok. However, the contact between the intermediate gear and the main gear is now dramatically reduced. I mean, the teeth are not properly aligned. They are not in the same horizontal plane. If you look at it, both gears are making contact with barely 1 mm.

Still, force is transmitted ok, consequently BR is flying ok.

But Im afraid this would not last for a long time, since the small contact surface among the teeth of both gears (main gear and intermediate gear) will abrade because of friction.

Or maybe motors would last less time that gears?

Well, I think there is little I can do since it is hard to manipulate such small pieces in so reduced and fragile space as BR is.

By the way, Steve, you mention you have 7 BR. I wonder if you have modified all of them. Do you have one that is exaclty as it was out of the box?


Ok, I will run to the bookstore for a technical english dictionary, sorry and thanks for your patience

greetings


bambino

[Steve Shepard]

Bambino : You seem to have a good understanding of the English language. It's the English language itself that is the problem ! When it comes to technical wording, even us folks who have been speaking English all our lives have a hard time figuring out what is being talked about. So don't worry about yor translating ability ~ you're doing fine.

You're kind of stuck, since you Ca'd the pin in place.(pun intended) You could try acetone (available in hardware stores, in the paint thinner area) to soften the superglue, and try to start all over. But when you use glue in that area, it is very easy to get glue in places you don't want it. The washer ( the circular thing) needs to be between the bottom of the gear and the frame, as you said. The only way I know of is to disassemble things and get it in position, press the pin in place, and CA the bottom of the pin. A good pair of needle-nose Vise Grips might be able to grab the top of the pin tight enough to allow you to twist it, and break the glue bond. The only other solution I can think of is to use a pin punch and a small hammer to punch the pin out of it's hole. Or maybe use a soldering iron to apply some heat to the bottom of the pin, to help soften the glue.
But then, as long as all is working OK, you can just fly it until the motors die, or the gears wear out. VERY IMPORTANT ~~ make sure to chop the throttle as soon as you know a crash is going to happen, so the motors won't continue to apply torque to the gears. With only about half of the gear taking the force, the pressure on the gears that are still meshed is doubled, making them very easy to break.

If everything fails, you can get a new frame and gear set from RC Toys at the link I posted earlier in this thread.

Six of my BRs are modified, in one way or another,or several, but I kept one virgin stock, just so my friends can see the difference. This weekend is our last flying day at our old flying field (We are building a new grass strip in a remote area), and folks have asked me to put on my "BR Demolition Derby". You'will know what that is, if you imagine 7 BRs, all up in the air at the same time, using only one TX. They crash and bang into each other, until only one bird is still flying. This time, I'm going to charge everybody $5, to cover the cost of new rotors. MY old ones are getting pretty well worn out, they have been fixed so many times.

Good luck, and
Aloha, Steve

[bambino]

You have very good ideas!

You know, I tried acetone previously but did not work. But now, as soon as I have time, I will try twisting the gear's shaft and acetone as well. I think such combination is the solution.

And you are totally right, applying glue in such reduced area might end having glue in undesired places. I was about to spill some glue to the motor!!!
Superglue is so thin and penetrating that it came too close to the motor shaft, I was breathless, but I was lucky to avoid such mess! Im definetely a novice in this BR stuff.

As you say, if all fails, I need to be specially careful shutting down the throttle at any crash to avoid damage to the gears (and motors as well)

Ok, thanks about my English. Yeah, it is hard all these technical words and terminology, they totally different than in Spanish, there is no way you can have a clue until you see the actual small piece, gear, washer, shaft, whatever. But it is also an opportunity to learn, so I try to look at the bright side.

I can not imagine so many BR up in the air crashing one to each other! It seems to be a show! By the way, you mention that all of your BR's have some repairment. May you suggest a glue that is good to be used with BR plastic? I noticed Super Glue such as the ones that are instantaneous (containing cyano) kind of destroy and dissolve plastic. How do you repair a broken frame?

I was thinking about buying another BR and leave it virgin. But maybe it would be better for me to wait until BR II is released in Mexico. I think by february or march, Costco will bring BR II to Mexico.

I wonder if in the USA BR II can be bought at any toy store or places like Best Buy or Circuit City or SAM's or even Wal Mart??

In any case, I appreciate so much your help, as now I have some hope to fix the mess I made!

bambino

[bambino]

Twisting the pin and applying acetone was the perfect combination.

Now the intemediate gear has its washer placed.

Many thanks!