Thread: Speed vs. Torque?
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Unread 23-06-2002, 22:11
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#0047 (ChiefDelphi)
  
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Re: Speed vs. Torque?
Posted by Raul at 12/28/2000 8:33 AM EST


Engineer on team #111, Wildstang, from Rolling Meadows & Wheeling HS and Motorola.


In Reply to: Speed vs. Torque?
Posted by colleen on 12/27/2000 7:54 PM EST:



Colleen,

Ah yes, the old question of tradeoffs. You have brought up the subject that most often gets engineers in trouble. In my opinion, the tradeoffs and compromises that one makes are the most critical in determining how good your robot will perform. Actually, I believe this is the essence of engineering.

Our team has always chosen to not specialize in one or two areas. We prefer to have a flexible design that can do many things. Our philosophy is that if you do only one or two things really well and cannot do much else, then it is easier to find a strategy to beat you. However, it is not easy but possible to find a robot concept/architecture that does a couple of things really well and yet do many things.

Unfortunately, some inexperienced teams will rush to decide on a concept so they can start building their robot right away. They start looking at the details without understanding the weakness of their overall concept. My advice, especially to rookie teams, is to not be intimidated by the short time you have (6 weeks); make sure you really analyze the implications of the strengths and weakness in the overall concept you choose.

Some times we get confused and make tradeoffs that are not necessary. A simplistic example is your Torque vs. Speed tradeoff. You can get both if you really want; you just have to dedicate several motors to that cause. You can use the 6 most powerful motors and have a very strong and speedy vehicle. But it might not be able to do much else well.

The last thing I want to say about Torque and Speed, which is probably stating the obvious, is that each has its pitfall. High speed usually implies less control of fine movements. High torque implies that you need a lot traction to make use of it. That is why most teams choose a middle ground, unless of course you use the Technokat’s gear shifter.

Raul


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