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Re: Rhino tread snapping?
Don, I think your theory is correct.
Our experience (this season only) with tracks is that low tension can cause the belt to slip off the side of the pulley when the robot is pushed sideways while moving forward or backward. This subsequently increases tension, either locking that side of the drivetrain if you are lucky (as we were), or causing extreme stress on the misaligned belt if you are not. The latter case happened here, I think.
We've been checking belt tension between matches. We also modified our turnbuckles to include lock washers and jam nuts.
__________________
Richard Wallace
Mentor since 2011 for FRC 3620 Average Joes (St. Joseph, Michigan)
Mentor 2002-10 for FRC 931 Perpetual Chaos (St. Louis, Missouri)
 since 2003
I believe in intuition and inspiration. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.
(Cosmic Religion : With Other Opinions and Aphorisms (1931) by Albert Einstein, p. 97)
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