Quote:
Originally Posted by jfox100
Hello Mentors/Teams/Students. I'm hoping to learn more about the advantages and pitfalls for a West Coast Drive type of chassis/drive train compared to the traditional drive train. Which of you have recently transitioned from traditional drive train to WCD? Please share your experience.. the good, the bad and the ugly!
What are unique design challenges? Maintenance issues? Challenges with buying WCD parts during the rush of build season? Cost? Reliability? Since we dont yet know what the 2017 game: is WCD drive better for certain playing field surfaces but perhaps not-so-good for other surfaces? Discuss some of the varoius versions of WCD.
Anxious to hear your thoughts!
Thanks
Jim
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First and foremost for me, WCD is a tube and gusset construction technique that is handy for making the full frame. VersaFrame as a system makes it simple without needing complex tooling.
Making bearing blocks used to be the toughest part for us. Again VersaFrame COTS parts have fixed that.
Mounting the gearboxes is the next challenge. There are COTS solutions for some of the drive train gearboxes. We have a milling machine to make custom mounting plates for any gearbox we use.
Design challenges: You can quickly design your base frame shape to fit the scoring section configuration. Cut and rivet the tubes... (to borrow a phrase) Boom. Done.
Maintenance: Wheels are easy to change if your tread wears out.
Buying parts: We commit to WCD style before seeing the game and buy tubing, gussets, and bearing mounts before the season starts. We've pondered swerve drive but haven't yet committed the resources to develop one.
Surface: I usually consider WCD a 6 or 8 wheel skid steer system. There are several variations on this theme. However, the wheels don't care which construction technique you use. Skid steer driving performance comes down to designing for scrub / traction forces, good construction, good control, and good weight distribution.
David