Re: Rhino track failier?
 

Just checked all that we have for our second bot and they have cracks in every one. Looks like it is from too tight of a fit with the bearing. Waiting for a reply from AndyMark.

This looks very very bad. Hopefully Andymark resolves this quick or there will be a lot of angry people with stationary robots.

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

My team hasn't had an issue like this yet, and we attached a cinderblock and a lot of lead weights to our chassis and went over all the obstacles full-speed. So it's definitely either over-tightening, or you guys just got a bad batch.

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

What position were the pulleys in when they failed?

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

The first one is the drive wheel, but we found them in seven of eight positions. We were doing basic driving when we found the broken piece. When we checked the pulleys we found cracks in all of them. We did some hard testing this afternoon and all of them are worse. All were installed per manufacturer's instructions.

This is not what I want to hear!!! Please please keep us updated on what you all figure out and also what andymark has to say about this!

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

It's a new product this year and as with any new product there are going to be problems. Especially for a complicated system like a tank tread system, teams spend many seasons and off-seasons trying to perfect their design. It seems that the pulleys, are the same type of material as the Hi-grip wheels, and there is barely any material to cushion any impacts. With the impacts that tank treads will receive in this years game, it seems that maybe plastic just isn't fit for this purpose and maybe Aluminium Pulleys would be better( at a significant monetary cost).

I'm sure that the guys at Andymark, are doing their best to find a solution to this problem.

It seems that due to the dead axle design, it would be quite simple and quick to change out broken pulleys, especially driven ones and replacements aren't too expensive either $8

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

Cyclical loading from tension in the belt? The HiGrip wheels obviously have constant contact with the carpet, but it would seem like the load on the pulleys would change slightly as the teeth engage and disengage. The counter argument is that AM sells 42-tooth HTD pulleys made out of the same stuff, but it seems like HTD profiles engage smoother than standard timing belt profiles.

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

The cyclical loading from the tension in the belt, would actually be very significant as during sharp acceleration the belt is in a way, trying to pull the pulley wheel towards it.

The belt is also steel-reinforced so there wouldn't be any stretch at all, and also the belt isn't going to slip. This isn't something that can be fixed by loosing off the belt tension either, because as soon as the belt is loosened, it'll be taken off by another robot extremely easily

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

Small point, but a steel reinforced belt has more stretch in it than, say, a fiberglass reinforced belt like the HTD belts used for other drives.

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

That is actually really interesting, thanks! I sort of assumed that because something is "steel" reinforced, it is going to stretch less than a fibreglass or kevlar reinforced belt.

So if it is a steel reinforced belt then how can it be a spliced endless loop belt, surely the weak point would be the splice? It seems difficult to join the steel strands, while they are embedded in the belt, because any heat welding would melt the rubber belt. So it is a crimp or something that is used to join the strands?

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

I direct you to the Brecoflex page on their spliced belts. They say only about half the tension members carry the load through the spliced area.

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

the steel cable will stretch over time if under constant pressure, my team did some testing last night and as long as you cant pull the track off the system by yourself they should be fine. track tension is not the main source of the problem but over tightening is definitely not helpful. (PS has anyone actually contacted AM yet?)
-thanks

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

Do you have any fresh wheels to measure the bearing hole size prior to pressing a bearing in?

Since you have the problem I would reccomend that you contact Andymark so you can discuss the exact conditions that caused the failure. You are the team that knows the details and can answer questions as they are asked pertaining to the failure. That will be better and faster than another team searching for answers without having all the information in front of them.

Re: Rhino track failier?
 

My team is not meeting on Sundays but tomorrow i will make sure that we contact AM, i do not want to start negotiating without having the parts in Question in front of me.