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Unread 06-04-2004, 17:55
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ahecht ahecht is offline
'Luzer'
AKA: Zan
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Re: independant 4 wheel drive

The past few years, we have used a small adjustable sprocket both as an idler to assure 180 degrees of wrap on all driven or driving sprocket, and as a chain tensioner. It works quite well.

You can see a picture of our 2k3 design here (this picture was taken during repairs, so there is slack in the chain). The bolt on the right hand side of the trapeziodal piece is what moves the idler up and down, and the sprocket at the bottom is connected to the motor. The is a stationary idler on the other side near the wheel that isn't quite visible.

Also, by placing the idlers above the driven sprocket on one side and below the driven sprocket on the other side, we could have both our motors running the same direction (which is much more efficient than the worm gear solution posted above, since worm gear efficiency is around 70% at best, while sprocket efficiency is around 97%).
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Zan Hecht

Scorekeeper: '05 Championship DaVinci Field/'10 WPI Regional
Co-Founder: WPI-EBOT Educational Robotics Program
Alumnus: WPI/Mass Academy Team #190
Alumnus (and founder): Oakwood Robotics Team #992


"Life is an odd numbered problem the answer isn't in the back of the book." — Anonymous WPI Student

Last edited by ahecht : 06-04-2004 at 17:57.