Pre-production unit shown. Estimated ship date is early September.
IMPORTANT: The adjacent MK5n Swerve Modules on a typical drivetrain are mirrored from each other, and there are consequently two kit layouts: "A" and "B". Scroll down to review how they are ordered.
The MK5n Swerve Module is the next revolution of the FRC swerve module, with a broad range of advancements over prior generation modules, including:
- Smallest inverted motor SDS swerve drive module: 5" x 7.5" footprint (excluding the chassis mounting flanges).
- Fully gear-driven steering system for additional robustness.
- Wider wheel for improved traction and tread life.
- Machined billet wheel with neoprene tread and molded wheel with molded spike grip tread options (Colson wheel option planned).
- Quick-change drive gear ratio accomplished by swapping only the motor pinion gear without internal disassembly of the swerve module.
- Enclosed bevel gears at the wheel help ensure field tape, carpet fuzz, and other debris do not end up in the bevel gears and grease.
- Drive and steering gears are enclosed in a molded glass-reinforced nylon housing to help keep the grease in and debris out.
- Sealed main steering bearing helps prevent carpet fuzz and other debris from entering the bearing.
- Chamfered bottom plate helps transition to driving up inclined surfaces.
Additional new features:
- One-piece main steering gear combines three parts (Center Column, Base Pulley, and screw) to simplify assembly.
- One-piece steering double gear combines two gears, one shaft, and one spacer to reduce backlash and simplify assembly.
- Intermediate drive shaft has integrated bevel gear to simplify assembly.
- Motor pinion gears have integrated motor shaft spacers to simplify assembly.
- Motor pinion gears have integrated wrench flats to hold the gear while tightening the shaft screw (no more grabbing the gear with pliers!).
- All machine screws are 10-32 to help minimize the tools needed for assembly.
- Steering encoder (not included) is fully recessed and enclosed for improved protection.
- Steering encoder wiring (not included) is recessed, and can be secured via an integrated cable tie mount for improved protection.
- Self-aligning housing to ease assembly.
Other features:
- Drive gear ratio changes are accomplished without using profile-shifted gears to help ensure efficient and quiet power transfer.
- All metal plates are made out of 7075-T6 aluminum to help ensure robust construction.
- All drive gears are steel for durability.
- Wheel is biased to the corner of the drivebase to help maximize robot stability.
- On-axis steering encoder for zero backlash measurements. Module can be disassembled/reassembled without resetting the encoder offset.
- Auxiliary 10-32 mounting holes on the main plate and housing to mount subsystems (e.g., vision system, mechanism pivot).
- Same frame-to-floor height as previous SDS swerve modules to increase compatibility across the SDS swerve module family.
- No 3D printed parts to help ensure robust construction.
- Bottom and top mounted robot chassis capability to provide multiple frame height options.
- Includes all hardware, including the hardware to mount the module to the robot.
The MK5n includes three different drive gear ratios that provide a broad range of speeds:
The steering gear ratio is 301:9 (approximately 33.44 : 1).
The swerve module ships unassembled, and the following components are not included:
- Drive motor (REV Robotics NEO, REV Robotics NEO Vortex with the 8mm keyed shaft, or WCP/CTRE Kraken X60).
- Steering motor (WCP/CTRE Kraken X44).
-
Steering encoder (CTRE CANcoder, CTRE SRX Mag Encoder, Thrifty Absolute Magnetic Encoder, Redux HELIUM Canandmag, or equivalent).
Note: The above steering encoders come with the ⌀.250”x 0.500” magnet that gets installed in the swerve module's main steering gear. That magnet is not included in the swerve module kit.
The production encoder cover will be translucent so the encoder's status lights are visible without removing the cover (pre-production cover shown is opaque black).
The swerve module can be directly mounted to commonly available 2" x 1" aluminum tubing with pre-drilled 10-32 clearance holes on 0.5" pitch (example).
The swerve module's main plate typically mounts on top of the robot chassis. However, there is also clearance to mount the chassis on top of the module main plate to maximize ground clearance under the chassis.
Because the MK5n Swerve Module does not have a symmetric footprint, a mirrored layout is utilized. The two layouts are known as "A" and "B". The following illustrates the two swerve module layouts in a typical drivetrain:
Important Ordering Information: Unless you specify otherwise in the Special Instructions field in the Cart (only visible when there is at least one product in the cart):
- Orders with an even number of MK5n Swerve Modules will receive an equal number of A and B layouts. If you want a different quantity of the A and B layouts, indicate it in the Cart's Special Instructions field.
- Orders with an odd number of MK5n Swerve Modules will receive the maximum equal number of A and B layouts, and then either an A or B layout for the final module. If you want a different quantity of the A and B layouts, indicate it in the Cart's Special Instructions field.
Without the encoder and motors, the MK5n weighs approximately 3.9 pounds. A ready-to-run MK5n weighs approximately 5.9 pounds, which includes:
- Complete swerve module with the bottom plate and chassis mounting hardware,
- Steering encoder.
- Steering motor (Kraken X44).
- Drive motor (Kraken X60, or NEO + Spark Max Motor Controller).
- Chassis mounting hardware.
Files:
- Layout Drawing
- CAD Model coming soon
- Parts List coming soon
- Assembly Guide: coming soon
