Quote:
Originally Posted by DampRobot
MICHAELABICK brings up a good point. What lead you guys to use belts? I've done a few weighted design tables to compare them with chain, and they would only win with an extraneous "quite operation" or "coolness" category.
What benefits (other than the above, which shouldn't really be considered in a design) led you to use belts on your bot this year? As I see it, they add a lot of lead time and cost for parts that need to be ordered and can't really be reused in many situations (unlike chains and sprockets). I believe I read a report a few months ago that concluded that the efficiency benefits from belts over chains are marginal at least for FRC. If belts cost more, take longer to get, and don't perform much better than chain, was there some other factor that led you to chose them?
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Depending on the belts' construction, the issue of stretching can also be eliminated (or at least minimized to a negligible level) so you can design for exact center to center distance without the need for tentioners to compensate for the stretch. This reduces complexity and can save additional weight.
According to the Gates website, belts, especially GT2 belts, reduce backlash significantly which makes the robot more responsive and allows for more precise control in autonomous mode.