Re: Drive Train Comparison 2006
 

This really can't be answered by a single team.

If you look at non-turreting robots you have a number of teams with great drive trains.

Triplets, Poof Twins, Martin Twins

These teams were all very effictive in what they needed to do. All of these teams used there drive train to effectively keep them in place when shooting.

If you look at turreting robots once again there are a number of good solid drive trains

217, 1126, 25

Once again these are the stronger teams that had turreting shooters. These teams were fast when they needed to be, and all could unload relatively fast so it didn't matter if you hit them, because given a few free seconds and the match was over. These drive trains seemed to me to be more freely moving than those that needed to fend off as they shot.

Dumpers/Defenders

195, 522

These both stick out in my head because they could play defense, and it wasn't just because of their drive trains, which were pretty nice contraptions i must say.

Automode: Kinda figured i must have something in here for automode since it was such a huge part.

71

Beatty once again was the team the impressed me the most. They had an odd kinda of drop down swerve drive to begin auto mode to get them in place and then they would unload. I really didn't see it run much but from what i did see it was by far one of the best drive train choices for automode.

Just my 2 cents again

Re: Drive Train Comparison 2006
 

217 was nearly impossible to force out of position, trust me. 116 could shove around around 95% of the robots we faced. We were able to dislocate 1261 and push them into 281, dislocating BOTH of them from shooting position in Peachtree. We even managed to hold position against 234 and 1625 pushing us at the same time (until 234 got under as and we tipped). But we couldn't make 217 budge.

And 494/70 had turrets btw.

Re: Drive Train Comparison 2006
 

Drivetrain success, as has been stated, was largely dependent on your strategy.

I know at least for our team, we would have gone back and built a faster drive train for last year, because there were numerous times we just wanted the darn thing to go quicker.

We're prototyping a new style of drive this Fall, and if all goes well with it we will probably use it next Spring (it won't be exactly identical, but pretty darn close unless the floor turns into water). We're actually building the full system to help give everyone more experience before spring starts.

Re: Drive Train Comparison 2006
 

I don't know if you can chalk it up completely to the treads I think it had a lot to do also with their properly tuned PID loop rather than just the treads.

i mean if the treads are really the answer just do like in 2002, but instead of file cards use the gum rubber material and pneumatically actuate it. My thought is it will help, but the PID is the real secret to their success with staying immobile.