Quote:
Originally Posted by JesseK
Mecanum - the biggest issue will be making sure the tabs don't get bent while crossing any of the platforms. It may be a good year to spend some weight on the Mecanum HD's from AM if you find the aluminum tabs bend or fatigue.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aur0r4
We used big mecanum wheels during Breakaway...they did surprisingly well on those ramps. I think bigger ones could probably *manage* to get over most of the defenses.
However, we found out that even the impact of coming down off the Breakaway ramps eventually started bending the heck out of the roller support tabs, eventually jamming them. Later in the competition season a major pit task was fixing all the bent tabs....and at like 400 bucks for a set, we weren't in the position to have spares.
I think mecanums would eventually get wrecked in this game.
|
With the "rough terrain" and all the ramps, you are likely to bend the roller support tabs as Aur0r4 found. The team we were with in 2012 used the AM 8" Mecanums. If our robot ever touched the edge of one of the bridges when it was not straight on, even at low speed, it would bend some of those tabs. A jammed roller would cause the robot to drive erratically (normal and strafe). We got used to jacking the robot up between each and every match and having a crew of 4 people, each checking one wheel to make sure none of the rollers was jammed. If one was jammed, the bolt holding it on would have to be removed so that the tab could be twisted back "just right" using a pair of channel-lock pliers. This was not fun at all for the pit crew nor was it fun for the driver.