Different drive trains
 

Just wondering if anyone would be willing to share how they train their teams about all the different drive trains out there. The designs, pros and cons etc. would anyone have a possible power point to share or lesson you use with pics?
I have a lot of rookies on my team and most are not aware of all the drive train options.

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday. Go teams.

Re: Different drive trains
 

Here is a great presentation by team 1114 that outlines many different drive train designs.

http://www.simbotics.org/files/pdf/s...raindesign.pdf

EDIT: There is also a video that corresponds with the presentation (also by Simbotics). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADcq...o6sOEVMR821tkV

Re: Different drive trains
 

There are plenty of white papers on CD meeting this description. My own entry is here.
To find others, click on the "CD-Media" button above the orange bar, then under the "Papers" block (center) select "Search", and enter some likely search strings, such as "Drive Train Primer". You can find also find white papers on specific drive trains.

Re: Different drive trains
 

I'd be more than willing to drive out to Cambridge and give the drivetrain presentation that I gave at FRC Jumpstart. PM me if you have any interest in meeting up. Otherwise Simbotics' presentations are incredible.

Re: Different drive trains
 

Quick thing to keep in mind is that vex pro is your friend. We had a few students make different drive trains out of vex parts. They made a swerve, H drive, and mecanum. It is a hands on way to learn about the basics of drive trains without over committing.

Re: Different drive trains
 

I would highly recommend you explore custom drive trains as an off season project. The Simbotics presentation is a great resource when you do have the time.

At this point, just build the kit bot during the first week of build season. The most important factors in any drive train are reliability and driver practice. Building the kit bot early gives you both.

Good luck this season!

David

Re: Different drive trains
 

David speaks the truth. There are some teams that can go from "hey, maybe we should..." to a new-to-them drive concept within build season. If you have to think about it, you are not one of those teams. You may not win an event just on the drivetrain, but you can absolutely lose an event just on the drivetrain. I've lost a whole season on the drivetrain. It sucks. A lot.

Other teams may put more weight on experimentation and learning experience, and that's fine--but I don't believe the drivetrain is a place for most to gamble their season.