Quote:
Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery
Josh,
I'm not worried about the roller chain itself failing to transmit torque, but rather the spring clip pins coming undone. We've seen this every now and then over the years with #35 chain in our FRC drive systems, and that chain was not directly being exposed to the lateral loads that occur in FRC pushing matches. If you do every release a version with friction fit outer plates, I think teams may be more comfortable using this in drivetrain applications.
The other sticking point will likely be price. No track option is going to be cheap, but spending $40 per 6" of track is a tough pill to swallow for more budget-conscious teams.
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The problem with a press fit version is you lock your design to one size loop. So you would have to either order custom made loop which we would manufacture, or design your robot around a standard size which we picked. I was never a fan of your robot being designed around one part. The track should not limit your design but give you options.
Another benefit of a modular design is the ability to replace parts on the fly. If any part of the track gets damaged, you can swap out only the damage parts in a matter of minutes. If anyone is seriously interested in a press fit version, or a welded version send us a message and we can work up a quote. It would not be too difficult to have the plates tig welded to the pins. We could work up a cost for that.
As for the cost, it is $40 for 12 inches, not 6 inches. So you actually get twice as much as you thought. How is that for a deal. haha
Josh