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One problem I see in this conversation is the OP specifically asked for input from people who had direct experience with swerve AND mecanum drives...
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I was not going to get involved with this thread, but because my team has done both, I figured I should probably share my opinion.
In 2012, at about week 3, my team decided to use the wild swerve module from AndyMark. It was quite a bit of work to implement, and the performance was lackluster. But ultimately, it was part of why teams 1717 and 469 picked us for their alliance on Newton. So in hindsight, it was probably worth it.
In 2013, my team tried to do a custom independent swerve drive, but was not prepared enough so we ended up changing to mecanum before it was too late. I was way more disappointed with the performance. We barely had any ability to strafe because the rollers had too much friction, our top speed and pushing force were diminished by the inefficiency of each gearbox, and the drive train was heavy because we used gearboxes with steel gears that were made to take two cims.
This year we made the jump to custom independent swerves. I could barely be any happier with a drive train. The swerves are light (about 7 lbs each), somewhat affordable ($220 each), reliable (knock on wood because we've had no failures yet), and highly maneuverable. I will admit that they were a lot of work, but I truthfully believe that they did not have any negative effects on the rest of the robot.
In conclusion, I would strongly recommend that any team with CNC machining capabilities spend their off-season research time on swerve drive rather than mecamum. I realize that many people disagree with me on this, but this is my honest opinion.
