thanks for all comments/suggestions. i guess i could change the sprocket on the two wheels powered directly from the transmission to something smaller. the main reason that i wanted to use 1020 and mount the axles in the center was for strength. the past three years, we had a very similar drivetrain, which i felt was excessive, but then again, it was very robust. the reason i want a light drivetrain, is that in the past three years my team had been in FRC, we havent had a complicated robot. our other systems end up to be too heavy, and we have to make accommodations by making simpler mechanisms. this year i dont want to have to worry about weight, and starting off 10+ lbs lighter will help.
2008:
2007:
i wanted to make something that was only one level of 8020, to reduce weight. in the past i noticed that a single 1010 rectangle bends too much, so i decided to use 1020. using only 6in wheels, by putting them on either the top or bottom, there was 7/16" of clearance (too little) or 3.5" (too much)
about the weight of chain, #35 chain weighs only .21875 lbs/ft, and with 9.5 feet of chain that is only 2.078 lbs. switching to #25 chain, which weighs .085 lbs/ft, would save 1.27 pounds, which isnt much for all of the added trouble. the purpose of all of my designing is prep for next year, as our team doesnt have the time/materials to build a chassis during the summer. just to see that your team seems to have built the same thing that i wanted to make, shows that i am headed in a good direction.
as to how i make the chains in autodesk, i just use the KOP download, and modify each link a little bit. i added a VERY small rectangle in the center of them, in order for an angle constraint to hold them together. or you can ground one end of a set of links, and simply drag the other end away from it, until it is straight. once you do this, you have length of straight pieces of chain, but you still need the curves. to do this, i find the distance from the center of each sprocket to each other, and make a new assembly to work out of. i then add in the links one by one, making them fit around the sprocket. then i add in the straight pieces, and put the whole assembly on the finished robot. its a lot of work, but it looks awesome =]