pic: Prototype 6WD
 

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

I can't see clearly, but why are your gearboxes offset from the center wheel? How are you running your chain?

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

It looks like a direct driven center wheel to me. The final gear reduction is hard to see (Looks like a supershifter using standoffs instead of the stock extruded body).

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

I love the use of U-channel, however usually U-Channel is weaker at the bends than C-channel. This would worry me on the outside rails on a high-impact carpet game. To keep the frame stiff, I would use C-channel on the inside (usually for those dimensions you can only find 3" base with 1.5" legs or a 4" base with 2" legs and both have a ~3/16" radius on the inside corners of the bend) and 2x1" or 3x1" box extrusion on the outside. It's roughly the same weight, stiffer, and much stronger on the outside. Possibly a little more expensive depending on the supplier. For a prototype this looks good!

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

AM SS steel hex driven direct drive
42lbs w/no lighting
should take one day to build
can use 25/35 chain
tensioners are floaters
wheels are CNC baltic birch used in every 188 drive train
AM bearing hubs/hex hubs/sprockets/spacers

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

Okay, I see now. I couldn't tell if that was a SS or not.

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

still looks really cool tho great jon

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

job*

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

Let me just say this. I will warn you about chains right now. There are a lot more problems that chains will have rather than gears. I will suggest you use gears before you go too headlong into chains. Ask team 79. They could have won in Florida if their chains didn't break.

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

Properly aligned and tensioned chain should NOT break under FRC loads. I know many teams have been using #25 chain for years without problems. If you feel uncomfortable using #25 chain feel free to use the heavier #35 because it will allow you to be lazy when you are tensioning and aligning.

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

The chain did not break, it came off the gear. We added some metal to our lexan to preven vibration, this was on our manipulator, not the drivetrain.

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

Actually most teams who switch to just gears: you guys, 25, 1403, some more, tried chain first just like the rest of us.

Yes chain has its problems and gears sometimes have their benefits in a DT, but when the design is based on good tensioning and weight is considered their priority you can't go wrong with chain.

We were happy not to have any chain in our drive train this year too though :D But I wouldn't necessarily bypass chain, especially when its a veteran team like Blizzard.;)

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

188 has a very reliable gear drive like 25 which has never broken once during competition the 2yrs we have used it but some of us think if we had more weight like 10-15lbs we could have built a much better function. I m hoping that the mentors will allow me to build and then break it thru tests to find the breaking point of the 25 chain vs the 35 in FIRST scenarios and see if anything else breaks over an extended period. Also to figure out if floaters are good enough to tension the chain and such.

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

There is absolutely no reason that a team should be worried about using either #25 or #35 chain on a FIRST drivetrain as long as simple precautions are taken such as proper alignment and tensioning. If the chain is taut and completely aligned there will not be any problems with it breaking. Additionally, it is much more difficult to machine a drivetrain to use gears versus chain and the gears will be much heavier.

Re: pic: Prototype 6WD
 

08 swerve, 8 runs of #25 chain, how many issues we had with them? 0
if you simply pay attention and take care when aligning and tensioning it, it will not go anywhere on you. (1 of those runs was holding back several hundred lbs of surgical tubing)


btw this is biohazard a former world champion battlebot i believe
and it uses #25 chain for the drive ;)

http://www.botshop.150m.com/Biohazard.jpg