Quote:
Originally Posted by JesseK
I'm curious whether he intends to do a 4-speed or not. The major tactical advantage of keeping a 1:1 ratio between the omni & traction wheels is to be able to change from one to the other at full speed. There is also another (huge, IMO) build advantage to this setup which should help answer the actuation question, and it is outlined on slide 3 of this paper:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2968 |
I was just musing on the idea of pulling off a mostly-COTS 4-speed with this design.
While I agree that you could change modes on the fly, I don't see a major advantage of this. If you're changing to traction mode, you're either trying to push or not be pushed. In that case, it'd be better to have the switch to low gear already built into the change of modes than to have to switch to low gear after changing modes. To put it simply, what advantage would low-gear omni mode give you? What advantage would high-gear 4-wheel traction give you?
From my experience, a major goal when developing a drivetrain should be to reduce the mental load on the driver. Having 4 possible drivetrain states for the driver to keep track of sounds like too much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JesseK
I think I need more detail on how the drive train will be run before commenting further. For example, do you plan to use 1 serpentine belt or two belts per side?
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Based on the size of the pulley on the gearbox, I'd say he's going for a 2 belts per side system.