Quote:
Originally Posted by ,4lex S.
Tip of the day: Do not waste your time trying to improve drivetrain performance when the kitbot is so good!
My team ran a 6WD Kitbot with 4" Plaction Wheels and Supershifters from Andymark. It was the most reliable and effective drivetrain I have ever been involved with. If you preped the parts prior to build season, it literally takes a couple hours to put together and build (lead times for parts were the only reason we were just driving in week 2). I have seen lighter drivetrains, but the weight we had on it was only 2" off the ground, dropping CG of the robot.
Focusing on the mechanisms that get you points will make you more competitive than building what is essentially the kitbot, but lighter. Engineering is all about picking the most efficient areas to make gains.
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The kitbot this past year wasn't as good as it has been from 2010 back to when andymark started providing it. They stopped including toughboxes in favor of the lighter, cheaper CIMpleboxes, which is fine, but they still gave teams 8" wheels. The since there is less torque due to less reduction, the 8" wheels required the motors to work harder and at a less desirable point on the performance curve. This can cause power failures, especially during turns, since the voltage drops far enough for some parts of the system to brown out or otherwise lose power.
My tip of the day: match you wheels to your transmissions and regardless of whether or not you use the kitbot and/or its frame.