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FingerTech "Silver Spark" 16mm Gearmotor

Price: 23.87 CAD

17.96 USD 15.25 EUR

4.6 stars, based on 19 review(s)

The Silver Spark line of motors has the same 16mm diameter as the Gold Sparks, but the gears are a larger pitch. This means less worrying about stripping teeth in your bigger or heavier applications!

• Extra-long 3mm shaft for mounting wheels directly with the option to use a bearing block for support on the wheel's far side.

• Same 11mm face mount pattern as Gold Spark motors.

• All-metal spur gearhead mated to a Mabuchi FK-050 motor.

• 9 different gear ratios for a wide range of rpm and torque to choose from. One twice as fast, and one twice as slow as the Gold Sparks!

• Weights from 28 - 32grams (0.99 - 1.13oz). (see details)

Gear Ratio

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Description
Specifications
CAD Files
Reviews
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The Silver Spark line of motors has the same diameter gearhead as the Gold Sparks, but the gears are a larger pitch. This means less worrying about stripping teeth in your bigger or heavier applications!

(Comparing Gold Spark output gear to Silver Spark)

• Extra-long 3mm shaft for mounting wheels directly with the option to use a bearing block for support on the wheel's far side.
• Same 11mm face mount pattern as Gold Spark motors.
• All-metal spur gearhead mated to a Mabuchi FK-050 motor.
• 9 different gear ratios: 11.1, 22.2, 33.3, 50, 83.3, 100, 200, 300, and 600 :1. One twice as fast, and one twice as slow as the Gold Sparks!
• Weight between 28 - 32grams (0.99 - 1.13oz).

These motors make it super simple to get a robot moving! Just pick up a pair of Foam Wheels and Twist Hubs to mount them, solder on a pair of tinyESCs and your motors are ready to be driven by radio control! For mounting the motors, use 2-56 screws and our custom motor mounts. We now also carry 3mm bearing blocks for supporting the shaft in heavy robots or weapon systems, and Flat Motor Mounts for when you want to face-mount in a panel.

Note - For strenuous conditions (such as robot combat), we recommend removing the gearbox and ensuring that the motor vent hole does not line up with a gearbox pin. If it does, simply rotate the gearbox 180 degrees and reattach. Use Loctite on the screws that hold the gearbox to the motor. This will ensure they cannot separate during competition!

Motor (Mabuchi FK-050SH-13125) Specifications
Operating Voltage: 3V - 18.5V (>10V decreases motor life)

Nominal Voltage: 6Vdc
No Load RPM: 11530rpm
No Load Current: 0.09A
Stall Current: 1.3A
Stall Torque: 0.0461kg-cm (0.64oz-in)
Kt: 0.0352kg-cm/A (0.49oz-in/A)
Kv: 1573rpm/V
Peak Efficiency: 52%
RPM @ Peak Eff: 9100
Current @ Peak Eff: 0.34A
Click here for the motor torque, current, rpm and efficiency curve.

Physical Specifications
Gearbox Lengths:
ratios 11: 11.5mm (0.45in)
ratios 22, 33, 50: 12.7mm (0.50in)
ratios 83, 100: 14.3mm (0.56in)
ratios 200, 300: 16.4mm (0.65in)
ratios 600: 17.9mm (0.70in)
Motor Length: 28.7mm (1.13in)
Motor weight (no gearbox): 17g (0.60oz)
Gearbox Diameter: 16mm (0.63in)
Shaft Diameter: 3mm (0.12in) with flat along length
Shaft Length: 38mm (1.5in)
Mounting Holes (2): #2-56 spaced 11mm (0.433in) apart
-do not use screws that protrude more than 2mm (0.078in) into gearbox
Weight:
ratios 11: 28g (0.99oz)
ratios 22, 33, 50, 83, 100: 29g (1.02oz)
ratios 200, 300: 31g (1.09oz)
ratios 600: 32g (1.13oz)

All ratio gearboxes can be interchanged because they use the same 14T pinion gears on the motor.
So (for example) you can remove the 50:1 ratio gearbox from its motor and replace it with a 33:1 ratio gearbox for more speed - without needing to desolder the motor! (Might want to swap the stickers so you know what's in the robot!)

No Load Speed @ Gear Ratio/Voltage

(Click to Enlarge)
Motors have been tested to work up to 22.2V (6 lipoly cells), but don't expect the motor to run that high forever!

Maximum Torque @ Ratio/Voltage (kg-cm) (oz-in)

(Click to Enlarge)
Exceeding 9.72kg-cm (135oz-in) will damage the output gear stage. Do not stall the motors highlighted in red at the indicated voltage.

19 Product Reviews - Average rating 4.6 / 5 (Show All)

Click to review this product

These are good motors, but not for a vert

Alek F - 08th December 2019

These are the motors I have used since my first combat robot and they were great. However, I recently built a pretty powerful vert (ant weight) that shreds the gearboxes with almost every hit it gives out. However, if you are building pretty much any other type of bot these should work fine.

Excellent if you treat them right!

Black Lightning Robotics - 29th August 2018

We use 4 of these in our beetleweight horizontal spinner Phantom II. The trick is to support the shaft with a bearing. We do this with a bearing pressed into the frame rail for each wheel but the Fingertech Bearing Block achieves the same thing. It's also a good idea to support the motor can itself. With this setup we've been through 28 fights across 6 events with only one gearbox failure, and that was because of a direct impact on the wheel hub. If you armor your wheels and support everything properly, these motors are well worth the investment.

Great service for not the most suitable motors

Chris - 06th November 2017

Bought a set of Gold Sparks and mistakenly used them with a set of Fingertech Mecanum Wheels in a beetleweight. Gears stripped within minutes of testing (too much weight on the shafts by the heavy mecanums).
Contacted Fingertech and they explained that I didn't choose the correct motors for the application but still gave me a 50% discount on a replacement set of Silver Sparks!
Once the replacements were installed I didn't use the mecanums again (didn't want to risk a second set of motors) and opted for some lightweight r/c 1/16 scale on-road tyres, using a 3mm d-shaft to 12mm hex adapter to mount them.
The Silver Sparks went well in the robot's first event yesterday, however after an outstanding event with next to no damage on my bot, the gears on three of the four motors stripped again during the third fight.

To summarize; excellent customer service by Fingertech but I don't recommend these motors for a beetleweight. Just too risky to spend this kind of money on motors that strip after little use. I will be searching for better or bigger motors for my application.

the standard for insect class combat robots

Ryan - 21st November 2016

I have 3 antweight and 2 beetleweight battlebots and all five of them use these motors. You've come to the right place for the best insect class drive motors in the game.

Best motor in the business.

Ravi B. - 21st November 2016

Best motor in the business. I'd be confident in saying 90% of ants using brushed motors uses these. The silvers are more robust .

Yes they can be damaged, but they're the best.

Andrew B. - 21st November 2016

Yes they can be damaged, but they're the best. Loctite the screws and mount the wheel as close as you can to the gearbox and you're golden. They're pretty durable for what they are. FingerTech has many must have products especially for 1lb bots, I bet 98% of 1lb has something from them in it.

Loctite to keep the gearbox from getting loose.

Lester N - 21st November 2016

I always remove the gearbox and loctite it back on. Also the shafts bend a little.... but then again I'm using it in a beetle.

22-1

Atom from Sacbots - 16th September 2016

I run the 22-1 silver spark
1.5" wheels
3 cell lipo

Speed in turns is very fast. Strait boxrush speed leaves a little to be desired if you are used to maxon 17-1. It's fast but not very fast. I don't think I'd want any slower. I turned down the rates to 50% on the turning and it's very manageable.

Great motors

Stuart Greer - 08th August 2016

I used these with the thin motor mount, the bearing block, and tinyESC's. I had a basic robot driving in 2 hours and they work great! DHL shipping worked great too. Thanks

Great product

Chuck Butler - 24th February 2015

I have used the 33-1 for the past few years. They take lots of abuse without many failures. Last weekend I took a direct hit to the wheel early in the fight that bent the shaft about 45 degrees. The motor and gearbox kept working for the rest of the fight. I bent the shaft back and ran it for another 5 minutes in the Rumble without failure.

Works Well

Ian McMahon - 19th December 2014

In about 9 fights, I only broke 1 gear tooth using the 22:1 gearmotors in the Physiques. That seems pretty good to me.

Stolen from the energizer bunny

Lester Nickolopoulos Q-Branch Robotics - 02nd February 2014

I have had the same set of 50:1 silver sparks (at 3s) in my beetleweight The Fighting 84th for 4 competitions with no problems, with the exception of the 3mm shaft bending ever so slightly from back in the first competition when I was thrown to the ceiling repeatedly by one of my competitors (one fierce lawnboy) , and I don't think the bent shaft is that big of a deal... It just looks funny.

One thing I would recommend if you use it in the 3lb class is that you carefully (you can cut yourself really bad if you slip) drill out a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe with a 16mm drill bit and press fit the entire motor and gearbox in, flood shoe goo in the back to support the motor and your ready to rock and roll

In short these are the best motors for the insect class available period.

Lester Nickolopoulos

Best Motor Option for Antweights

Troy Mock - 09th September 2013

I used the 11:1 Silver Sparks in my spinner antweight coupled with 1.5" lite flites. Incredible speed! The motors are very well designed and after 2 events are still going strong. My only caveat is the small 2-56 screws used to attach the face plate of the motor to a mount. The screws loosened up after a few fights, but since I've put some threadlocker on the screws, I haven't had any other issues. Definitely recommended!

These are amazing!

Jacob Greenisen, Team Omega - 07th May 2013

I have just finished installing your 83:1 Silver Sparks as my drive
train on my beetle weight robot. I just wanted to say that they are
amazing! Its torque is good enough so if my weapon breaks I can just start pushing. Thank you for your awesome products! I plan on using FingerTech for more robots in the future.

I won the Robot Riot in Miami won two fingertech silver sparks.

Hugh Savoldelli - 05th April 2013

These motors are relentless. They never let you down. So far, I have done nine fights and have gone 7-2 with one pair of motors. There is a reason everyone is using them now. It is because they are manufactured incredibly well, and are second to none in insect weight classes.

They are Truly a fantastic product for combat robotics.

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2-56 Button Head Screws (25pcs) - 2.93 CAD

• 25-pack of 2-56 Button Head Screws (length of 1/8", 3/16" or 1/4")
• Black Oxide screws are harder than Stainless Steel or Zinc Plated and the heads will not strip out as easily.
• Use for mounting Gold Spark and Silver Spark motors.

FingerTech Bearing Block - 6.31 CAD

• This bearing block can be used as a motor mount for 16mm gearmotors (such as our Spark motors) or as a simple bearing block for a 3mm shaft.
• The bearing works with the Spark Motors by aligning the mounting holes to the Spark mounting holes and offers additional shaft support.

FingerTech Flat Motor Mount (pair) - 6.08 CAD

These anodized 6061 aluminum Flat Motor Mounts are used to face-mount motors to flat robot sides.

• Includes a pair of mounts with countersunk mounting holes.

• 11mm hole pattern for Antweight motors like Gold Spark, Silver Spark, etc.

• 17mm hole pattern for Beetleweight motors like Kitbots 1000RPM, etc.

FingerTech L-Bracket Motor Mount (pair) - 4.73 CAD

These anodized aluminum motor mounts will fit just about any small motor with mounting hole distances from 10mm - 12.5mm (0.39 - 0.49in). Especially suited to both Gold and Silver Spark motors, they will also hold all "Mini Metal Gearmotors", small Copal motors, Maxon motors, etc.

• Seven different mounting slots will fit up to 3mm or 4-40 sized screws.
• Width: 16mm (0.63in)
• Height: 19.8mm (0.78in)
• Length: 18.6mm (0.73in)
• Thickness: 1.45mm (0.057in)
• Shaft height: A motor with 11mm hole spacing will raise the motor shaft up to 11.7mm (0.46in).
• Only 1.5grams (0.05oz) each!