[EricH]

Originally Posted by iyermihir

How can a live vs. a dead axle change your speed, torque, or backlash?
The power transmission method would be the same. The only difference would be what the sprocket/timing belt pulley is connected to which does not affect any of those things.

-Mihir Iyer

Backlash COULD be increased by an extra chain/sprocket or belt run--most live-axle setups have a direct-drive off the gearbox. Dead axle cannot do that, and so must have a chain/belt run. If some stretching happens, then there will be some backlash--overall, however, it probably won't be noticed.

Speed and torque can be adjusted to be identical between live-axle and dead-axle. I think nathan was confusing axle types with direct drive and chain drive, which are by no means the same as live-axle and dead-axle--though it's rather difficult to have a direct-drive without a live-axle somewhere in the system, it's actually pretty trivial to have a chain drive go either live-axle or dead-axle depending on what you attach the sprocket to.



Oh, and the other drivetrain, with the balls: that would be team 45, TechnoKats, from sometime around 2003. I think that system saw use by another team, or two, at various points, but memory fails me. The balls had no axles; the front wheels were omni wheels if I recall correctly (and casters if I don't). All power went through the ball drive; each ball was driven by a pair of rollers directly mounted each to a motor. Vary the inputs to the motors, vary the direction of the robot.