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Unread 10-01-2008, 11:53
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Jeff Waegelin Jeff Waegelin is offline
El Jefe de 148
AKA: Midwest Refugee
FRC #0148 (Robowranglers)
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Rookie Year: 2001
Location: Greenville, TX
Posts: 3,132
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Re: what Chain size and tensioner to use for the drivetrain

I have had some robots that functioned fine for a whole season, while never having to adjust the chain. I've had others that had to be constantly adjusted. Sometimes you can get away with not having tensioners, but it's like playing a game of Russian Roulette with your drivetrain. It's better to come up with a tensioning solution (HDPE, idler sprockets, sliding motor/wheel mounts) than to risk having your drivetrain fail in a critical situation because the chain got too loose.
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Jeff Waegelin
Mechanical Engineer, Innovation First Labs
Lead Engineer, Team 148 - The Robowranglers