Celt-X Versablock Encoder with minor modifications

thingiverse

Many thanks go out to Celt-X for designing the original system. Team 4918, the Roboctopi, have made some adjustments to suit their needs. Several quick fixes were implemented in TinkerCAD using the STL file uploaded by Celt-X. The team used Celt-X's design in seasons 2018 and 2019. They found that the press-to-fit design would eventually crack at the points where pressure was applied to fit the parts together. Although they used PLA, a different material may have held up better, but Celt-X's design deserves a lot of credit for staying fully functional throughout the season even after these cracks occurred. There are currently three versions of the modified design in place. The first version has been tested and proved successful. At the time of this posting, versions two and three have not yet been tested because the team's shop is now closed for the holidays. 1 - Bottom: The height of the encoder-side protrusion was reduced to allow leads to be soldered to the limit switch pads. The receiving holes for the housing pins were also slightly enlarged due to press-to-fit issues mentioned above. 1 - Housing: The diameter of the mounting post that goes through the encoder was slightly reduced because the post would sometimes break when installing the encoder. A small pocket was added to the arch where the back of the encoder sits on. Previously, this was a tight fit where cracking occurred. 2 - Bottom: The smaller set of screw holes was enlarged to match the larger set. 2 - Housing: The thickness of the zip tie tab has been increased since this area has been observed to crack. This part of the design may change as it is not yet known if there is enough clearance for the square end of the encoder. 2 or 3 - Spacer: The smaller set of screw holes was enlarged to match the larger set. 3 - Bottom: Nearly identical to version two, but with through holes for screws to hold the housing together. The intent is to tap the holes. 3 - Housing: Same as above.