Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris is me
I wouldn't say they weren't worth the trouble. It was possible to build a better system custom, sure, but Rhino treads helped hundreds of teams field competitive drivetrains that could cross defenses, and I'm willing to bet at least half of those teams would not have been able to do so otherwise. They were a fine product and a good solution for this year's game. They were not free of issues, but that applies to many, MANY custom drivetrains this year as well.
While I very much could be wrong on this one, I believe 195's treads were a custom variant of the Rhino tread system as well? So more than one Einstein team was rocking treads in any case. And you can't necessarily consider lack of use as an argument against the effectiveness of a drive system that was introduced very shortly before Kickoff - many teams simply were not willing to take a risk on a new product like that in a system as critical as the drivetrain.
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Our team went with the RhinoTreads this year, and if I were to do it all over again, I would definitely go with a pneumatic wheel base. The treads caused too many compatibility and reliability issues with us, even with the upgraded pulleys. A 6WD or 8WD 8" pneumatic drivetrain, welded aluminum 1x1" frame, and 6-CIM PTO. We're gonna have the CAD and engineering power next year, and
I'm really feeling it.
Now, for a beginner product, it certainly worked well. It put up well for what the game did to the robots. Nobody on our current team had any drivetrain engineering experience, and we went with what everybody else was going for. Thing is, it's a base product. It could easily be improved upon, yet serves the purpose quite adequately, just like any other base drivetrain you can order. And, it was a direct upgrade to the AM14U3 chassis. I saw several unlucky teams getting their chassis bent to hell in one day.