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Unread 19-11-2013, 23:46
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DampRobot DampRobot is offline
Physics Major
AKA: Roger Romani
FRC #0100 (The Wildhats) and FRC#971 (Spartan Robotics)
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Re: Team 2471 swerve drives

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryce2471 View Post
I'm not sure where you got the 28 lb figure, but that is irrelevant. This is one of the lightest swerve drive train that i know of. The point is not to be lighter than a mecanum drive. The point it to out preform a mecanum and try to stay as close as posible on weight. But, in some ways you are right, one of the disadvantages of swerve drive is the weight.

Look at it this way, there's over 15 lbs of motors. Maby someone will point out that there is a swerve that weighs much less, and prove me wrong.
If your swerve really weighs 28lbs (which I doubt includes everything, but nonetheless), then it's extremely light. 28lbs is a pretty decent weight for a WCD, at least in my book. If your drivetrain's over 40lbs (not including electronics), only then might weight be a potential issue.

Oh, yeah, one more thing to add. It's been said many times before, but not in this thread (at least as far as I can see). You've probably already figured this out, but swerve is a ton of work, not just in terms of design or programming, but also in terms of raw manufacturing time and effort. Be careful before you decide (especially before the season) that because swerve is so awesome and you've done it in the offseason that you should do it in-season. Just in terms of manufacturing and assembly time, you could essentially free up enough time to do a full manipulator iteration in season by choosing a WCD or an off the shelf drivetrain over swerve.

All in all, cool swerve, and it looks like you've had fun building it! Congratulations, you've succeeded where many have failed.
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