Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

Finally set a module on the scale, 6.53lbs as pictured in the first post

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

Sorry to revive an old thread but any plans on making this a 2-speed Aren?

-Nick

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

I know how i'd do it, but that doesn't mean it EVER needs to happen, so no

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

Aren,
This swerve module truly is a thing of beauty. I love how compact you were able to make it. The design work is top-notch. I'm glad you brought it down to TX so I could play with it this summer.

That said...

...having watched these two matches I haven't actually seen the swerve in action. Did you ever run into a match situation where you NEEDED to go sideways? There weren't any maneuvers in either of those videos that couldn't be accomplished by a skid-steer drivetrain. ;)

Beautiful swerve, probably not needed.

Love,
John

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

Oh i'm fully aware, we kinda lost most of our practice time to rebuilding the robot the GDC didn't like, whole host of issues, but still a fair amount of fun.

You're aware of my feelings on this subject, I seem to have gotten some Texas on me

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

To add, for those who don't know Aren personally, we very rarely -if ever- used the swerve to its full potential during match play.

We had very little driver practice due to undergoing a "second build season" to revamp elements of our robot instead of spending pre-regional time with driver practice.

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

Maybe the GDC likes dogs instead of cats, Aren.

Also, the most important part of this photo is the can of Mountain Dew in the background.

-Nick

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Has your team been practicing with the drive since the end of the season? Any plans to stick with this going forward or will you play it by ear based on next year's game? A drive team with an entire off-season's worth of driver practice with a swerve drive would be a force to be reckoned with.

This drive gets my vote for coolest drive of the 2012 season, blew my mind when I saw it on here.

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

It's even cooler in person, especially when you get to hear how it was made. Legend!

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

Hopefully another Neutrino can pipe in with more accurate answers (I've been away while Uni was out of session), but most driver practice has come from demos and the like, not too much in the way of drills. We're planning on going to Cow-Town, so driver practice should be in the plans for preparation, but nothing to the extent that you might be thinking/hoping.

Nothing can be for-sure until the game comes out, but I think we're going to try going much simpler with our drive so we can put more effort/time (and money!) into other aspects.

And thank you! Two of our students devoted their entire build season to creating it, so I'll make sure they get the praise :)

Re: pic: 3928 Swerve Module
 

Looking forward to seeing this beauty up close at Cow-Town. After our new members see Bombsquad in action and then look at your modules I'm sure they'll be asking why we haven't done swerve since 2010. I hope they give you a great pit location to account for all the visitors we'll be sending over.

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:ahh: Why did I not realize this until now?? Cowtown is not, by any means, coming soon enough now.

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Kudos to our awesome team of swerve mod builders! Got to hold it the other day and it's pretty cool what they came up with... Weather or not we'll stick with the same design this year is to be seen.

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Wow. What a CIM placement! :ahh:

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How do connect the steering gear to the mounting plate? I assume there is some thin bearing in between, but how did you retain it vertically? This is for sure one of the coolest things I've ever seen.