pic: Team Unlimited's Gear Shifter
 

Re: pic: Team Unlimited's Gear Shifter
 

Just a few questions about your gearbox and chassis design:

• Is there a tendency for the gears to get stuck while switching gears in motion?
• While it's stationary?
• Are there ever issues with the chains on the sides falling off or becoming jammed? (Especially if hit by objects, like the rings or other robots.)
• What is the purpose of the omni-wheels? It looks like they are suspended in mid-air and aren't actually used to support or drive the robot.
• Is it necessary to have 2 motors per side?

Re: pic: Team Unlimited's Gear Shifter
 

Since it's not single-design oriented, I believe I can answer the motors per side question.

Certain teams might not find it necessary to have 2 drive motors per side. However when you weigh the entire robot down with steel manipulator parts, if you're geared for speed you'll definitely notice lackluster power due to the extra mass. In other words it will take (seemingly) forever for the bot to get up to speed.

If you have a very lightweight bot or it's only geared for med-high torque situations (therefore low speed) you could probably get away with 1 motor per side.