Saturday 4 March 2017

Mod: Artifact Motor as a Rapidstrike Pusher


The Artifact motor is the fastest motor created specifically for Nerfing purposes. It is rated to 50k RPM at 7.4V, significantly beyond the next closest of the MTB Wolverine Mk2 or Honey Badger, at around 45k RPM at 7.4V. The Artifact motor is also an odd size, being a little longer than the traditional 130 motor, but significantly shorter than the long 180 motor.
Due to its length, the Artifact motor cannot be seated in the Rapidstrike pusher box with the back supports in the way that a 130 sized motor can. This is rather unfortunate, as it makes the motor mounting a little less stable. The e-tape (which is a highly non-ideal solution for this) is used to stabilise the motor and prevent it from sliding out.
I removed too much material from the pusher box in my haste, so my motor was even more loose than it should be.
Installation complete, the Artifact motor is just short enough to still fit in an RS shell as a pusher without further alteration.




Time: 1.29
No. darts: 18
ROF: 13.18dps or 790.7rpm
Voltage after firing: 7.55V

Time: 0.957
No. darts: 18
ROF: 17.76dps or 1065.8rpm
Voltage after firing: 11.4V

As demonstrated by the above video, and as expected from its specs, the Artifact motor is capable of beating a Honey Badger or Wolverine Mk2 for ROF. Sheer speed is not everything however; for a motor to be useful, it also has to survive long enough to actually get reasonable use. The Honey Badger has proven itself on 3S, with my own Rapidpistol seeing combat use with no issues. I had doubts about the Artifact motor surviving on 3S, so after a little testing I recorded it again.



Time: 1.186
No. darts: 18
ROF: 14.33dps or 860rpm
Voltage after firing: 11.3V

As clearly demonstrated, its use on 3S has not done the Artifact motor any good. After only a little use (less than 10x18 mags worth), the Artifact motor has already slowed down to slower than a Honey Badger or Wolverine Mk2. Shortly after this video, I switched the pusher motor back to a Honey Badger and it was back up to speed, and didn't sound like it was destroying itself. Based on what I experienced at least, I would not recommend the Artifact motor as a super-high-speed 3S pusher. I think that it would survive decently on 2S as fairly high speed pusher, but overall the Artifact motor is just far too fast for its own good.
As for flywheel use, well I personally most likely won't even bother. I felt that Honey Badgers were unsuitable for 2S flywheel use due to their excessive speed, and Artifact motors are of course even faster.

9 comments:

  1. Interesting. has anyone tried these on flywheels?? Also where are they available?? Will then fit in certain flywheel shells?? Most curious.

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    Replies
    1. I believe on flywheels they function much like MTB Honey Badgers - they work, but produce excessive speed/noise/vibration/etc compared to a better spec'd motor like the MTB Rhino, as well as more dart burn.
      The primary source of Artifact motors is on TaoBao, however Artifact resellers/distributors such as Malaysia-based Monkee Mods will likely have them in stock.

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    2. Having trouble looking for torque values of this motor and the mtb rhino.

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    3. This quote from Monkee Mods on Reddit: "Stall Torque @7.4V: 346 g.cm"
      This puts it well above the Rhino or Honey Badger for torque, though makes sense considering its top speed is also far higher.

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  2. Do you think there might be a different result if a burn in was completed on the artifact motor?

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    Replies
    1. Possibly, however I still strongly question the survivability of the Artifact motor being run at that speed. Considering how little gain there is compared to using a Honey Badger pusher instead, which has been proven to work well and survive, I personally would just stick with a Honey Badger instead.

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    2. Is there a safe way to change the brushes on a mtb rhino?? Burnt them out

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    3. If you have another brush pack, yes. It's simply a matter of removing and replacing the burnt out brushes. Though considering how little Rhinos cost, and how much effort you'd have to go to get the replacement brushes anyway, it's probably easier just to straight replace the motors.

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  3. May I ask what motors would you recommend on taobao for 3s Rapidstrike mod? I feel a bit lost. any response greatly appreciated :)

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