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Originally Posted by Shu Song
4. Our team has always scorned casters. Unless you're really short on weight, don't use casters. Just connect the wheels that are motored to the wheels that aren't (with chain). As for improving mobility? it really doesn't. Just think of a shopping cart, there are two casters in the front. It moves forward well enough, but when you need to back up, the cart fish-tails like crazy and you lose control.
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I have to
strongly second what Shu's said here. Last season, 1293 put a caster on the back of our robot. It took our driver until our final qualifying match at the Palmetto Regional to get it sorted out. And even when we went on a few parades, it was a beast to try to drive, to the point that now we just drive Ockham backwards in order to get it from place to place. Had we avoided using the caster, I think we'd have performed much better on the field.
Moral of the story: Don't use casters. If you have to use casters, mount them at the front of the end that goes forward. And don't back up.