pic: 1351 Wheel Modules
 

Re: pic: 1351 Wheel Modules
 

Cool!

You'll be like the 3rd Nor-Cal team to do swerve.

Is it just me or are the vertical miter-gears plastic?

Re: pic: 1351 Wheel Modules
 

Looks great. Were the side plates CNC'd or waterjetted?

Re: pic: 1351 Wheel Modules
 

So its not just me who saw that.

You think that it'd be a problem in the future?

Re: pic: 1351 Wheel Modules
 

Depends, what material is that plastic?

Re: pic: 1351 Wheel Modules
 

Oh yes - the vertical gears are made of nylon. I don't think mating a steel to a nylon is too uncommon - it's a quieter solution than steel to steel (so I'm told) and doesn't require super-precise positioning. The nylons are also a lot less expensive than their steel counterparts ($4 instead of $30). Still, if the nylons do chew themselves apart, we have a spare set of steel gears.

The parts were CNC'd by Meadows Manufacturing, our local sponsor.

What other Nor-Cal teams are doing swerve?

Re: pic: 1351 Wheel Modules
 

In this situation, I think that having plastic gears is actually pretty acceptable due to the fact that this is not a game of extreme loads. The wheels would break friction and slip on the surface before any teeth would strip.

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...Don't forget about the force of suddenly changing directions when at full speed. Most Plastics don't like that too much.

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Our torque and acceleration control algorithms should prevent sudden direction changes at high-speed.

...should

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even if you try and change directions at high speeds, i don't think the friction will allow you to do so, so even if your software fails, the laws of physics should hold

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I'd be a bit more concerned with the CoF change as you go from free spinning on the regolith to traction on the carpet.

Otherwise, looks great.