[sdcantrell56]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I'll try to address every question.

The wheels are 4.5" diameter, much smaller than the kit wheels. Also the center wheel is hex keyed which will be much easier than adding a hub to a kit wheel. Each one of these wheels only weighs 0.28lbs which is a lot lighter than kit. Finally the tread will be .75" wide roughtop, with a higher Cof than kit wheels.

There might be support for bumpers in the middle or not. Im not sure. Especially in the front it will probably be left open for a manipulator. If we do add supports it will likely just be delrin standoffs so the added weight will be minimal.

I was trying to build a prototype of this during the summer to test a lot of the ideas and to be a good opportunity to teach new members about design and construction but I dont think we have the money to do that.

Direct drive is accomplished by an extended shaft coming out of the transmission. The center wheel is keyed to this shaft and then the outer wheels are chained off of the center wheel. With this arrangement no matter how many chains we break, we will still have movement. This allows us to run #25 chain with a lot less worry and in turn save a great deal of weight.

This was rendered in autodesk, and as for shaving more off the gearboxes and exposing the gears, I'd rather sacrifice a little bit of weight to cover up the gears than leave them exposed. Also the inner plate of the transmission is delrin so the weight savings would be very minimal.