[Teched3]

We have used 6 wheel drive for many years, but #25 chain for the drive. We have considered using belts, but have felt that belts take a little more width away from the robot footprint, where space has been at a premium. Belt tension is extremely important with belts, so put a tensioning adjustment into your design for every belt. I would also suggest using a COTS belt rather than try to put a custom length onto your machine.

We have also used the drive configuration you are considering, but would suggest runnng the wheel to wheel belt from the mid wheel to the front, rather than the rear. When you get into a pushing match, the front wheels will not provide any traction as they will lift. I would also suggest you consider a drive belt to each wheel, so you can still drive, even if several belts break. Design so belts can be changed easily, and keep spares on hand. I haven't looked at the load capabilities of belts, but #25 chain can take 750 lbs of load. The only time we have broken a chain is whe another robot part got in betwen our sprocket and chain, deleoping tremendous load, and we were still able to compete. PM me if you need any other info.