Mecanum Drive Train
 

We were wondering how other teams have connected the motors to the wheels. we have a couple of Ideas like using 4 tough boxes or just connecting the motors straight to the wheels. Any suggestions? :confused:

Re: Mecanum Drive Train
 

Do not connect the output from the motor directly to the wheel. You will need to gear down the output from the motor to ensure the wheel has enough torque to move your robot and do so without popping every circuit breaker in the universe.

Re: Mecanum Drive Train
 

Take a look at the Toughbox Nano, it takes 1 motor and seems easy to mount direct drive.

Setting up a direct drive to your motors will end very poorly though, I would suggest you run some form of reduction at least. I also don't know if the CIM would react well to being loaded in that way. For our holonomic drive 2 years ago, we used direct drive toughboxes directly bolted to our frame (and it worked alright).

I would suggest making either a suspension for your chassis or making it out of a springy material, to ensure wheel contact at all times (will make control much easier).

Re: Mecanum Drive Train
 

You always want to have some sort of gearing between your motors and what they're driving. For a drive train, this almost always means a gear box of some sort. This helps to reduce the wear on your motors (because the shafts aren't placed under the strain that the shafts for the wheels or arms are placed under), making them last longer. Further, it allows you to chose how much torque/speed you want by changing the size of the gear reduction.

Re: Mecanum Drive Train
 

When 330 experimented with mecanums a few years back, they used the then-KOP gearbox (which was a design ancestor of the Toughbox) with one motor in each.

1135 used one-motor Toughboxes when they used mecanums in 2008.

Neither had issues with the gearboxes--and yes, they were bolted directly to the frame.

Re: Mecanum Drive Train
 

we used banebot gearboxes on our linkage and had a mechanical linkage connect to plates bolted right to the gearboxes. The wheels were also direct drive off of them, and though we prepared for the stress to wear them out. They kept going, and still work today (2 seasons after) I love those gearboxes. Nice and small :D

Re: Mecanum Drive Train
 

810's using 4 BaneBots gear boxes, (same kind we were given in 2007).

Re: Mecanum Drive Train
 

My team, 862, used 4 individual CIMs with 4 toughboxes. I think we had a change in ratio via the chain too, but I cannot remember. I do remember that it most definitely needs to be geared down, however. That is especially the case if you plan to go over the bump.

Re: Mecanum Drive Train
 

Thanx we were leaning toward having the 4 tough boxes like u all said to drive each wheel we were just unsure if there was another way to do it.