Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronica1
The way our octocanum system works, 3 inch Colsons are held in their own modules to make the modules as small as possible (and in turn lighter). When we shift, the sprocket on the mecanum wheel and the sprocket on the colson wheels get a 1/8 of an inch closer together. We use chain because the teeth are larger on a sprocket than on a pulley. In the end we only add less than 5 lbs to a normal mecanum system which sounds like a decent trade off, especially when all you have to do to switch to normal mecanum (because plan B is a great thing to have) is just unbolt the modules.
Our very early prototype |
Cool! We use 2" Colsons to make the drivetrain as light as possible, but both wheels and the linkage are contained in a single pod. The first 5-ish seconds of
this shows a prototype of our original system with 4" roughtop wheels. It's now a lot smaller, a lot more compact (doesn't come above the frame), uses smaller pistons to shift drive modes, and has even better traction on smooth surfaces without sacrificing carpet traction.
If we have the weight, we're likely going to add four mini-CIMs to the drivetrain--but we have to hold off on that until we're sure we can swing it.