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Unread 09-11-2007, 22:32
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Ambitiously Disappointing
AKA: Andy Burchardt
FRC #0171 (Cheese Curd Herd)
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Join Date: Mar 2005
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Re: Drives in general

Quote:
Originally Posted by lukevanoort View Post
Assuming that you mean just 4 wheel drive without omni wheels, pop-casters, or other such devices, then the answer is no. For the traction bit, as said above, for the most part, traction is independent of surface area in contact with the carpet. 4WD is a path with several pitfalls that must be avoided, and its maneuverability can turn into one of them. If a 4WD (again, assuming no omnis, pop-casters, and that kind of stuff) is longer than it is wide it will not turn well. On the other hand, a 6WD using the same wheels will always turn better (assuming the middle wheel is lowered or coplanar, not raised off the ground) than a 4WD of the same LxW dimensions. This characteristic and resistance to bottoming out on ramps are what make the 6WD so popular among teams nowadays.
Thanks for clarifying. I forgot about the ramp part. The two out of three years, the game has involved getting up a ramp. If you consider getting unstuck from the tetra goals, then all three involved an some amount difficulty. With six wheels, ramps are not really a problem (assuming ground clearance) and you don't see many teams with 6wd getting stuck on parts of the playing field because you pretty much always have at least 2 wheels on the ground, if not four or six.

I have never worked with anyone, so if you have (Cyberblue ) on a hex drive (six wheels with middle wheels moved)

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/27420

Do teams lower the middle wheel or is the point of moving them out so that they don't need to be lowered or lowered as much.
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