Quote:
Originally Posted by Knufire
"Because they do it" shouldn't be your rationale. Yes, all the top teams doing something is generally a indicator that it's a smart decision. However, blindly following them without figuring out the rationale behind their decisions is a bad idea; there might be variables at play that made WCD the right choice for them but not for you.
Note how Corsetto said that 1678 is going to keep learning from the teams they're inspired by. Copying 254 or 973 probably had some sort of analysis of their resources and what direction was best for them.
There are successful teams that do WCD, there are successful teams that do omnidirectional drives. There are successful tube and gusset teams, there are successful sheet metal teams. Which one is right is completely dependent on the resources available to your team.
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I really like this post in that it illustrates something that is hard to understand.
There are successful teams who use WCD, Sheet metal, swerve, kitbots, and every other style in-between.
The success comes not from using a particular style of drivetrain, but from building the right kind for your team. That goes for most mechanisms too.
5254 and 20 are both probably going to use shifting 6 Wheel WCD's in 2016. 5254 will use Versaframe and gusset one together, 20 will use stock tubing and weld it together.
5254 will likely use a lot of COTS parts and gearboxes for everything and try to build something incredibly simple and then iterate on it. 20 will likely have a detailed CAD drawing of a robot we hope will be able to compete at the highest levels, then work with it until it works like expected.
Both have the potential to be successful in 2016, despite varied styles of build and materials available.
Use what's right for
your team. Do a detailed engineering analysis of what makes sense for you. Don't be dissuaded by people who say you can't win without this resource or that resources- they're wrong.