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Unread 14-01-2010, 14:08
kirtar kirtar is offline
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FRC #0461 (Westside Boiler Invasion)
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Join Date: Jan 2008
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Location: West Lafayette, IN
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Re: Swerve vs. Mech?

Quote:
Originally Posted by rcflyer620 View Post
We have looked at mecanums as well as a 6WD drop center arrangement. Two things come to mind that push me a little in favor of the 6wd.
1. Mecanums come with a price penalty we may not be able to afford.
2. They also come with a fairly significant weight penalty. I think there is going to be a strong concentration of pneumatics this year which tend to be heavy. I'm afraid to develop a drive train that uses up my weight budget. We've built the 6WD drop-center before and if it's done right it can turn on a dime AND climb ramps. We will probably need to make a shorter wheelbase because of the steepness of the bumps but I think it can work. We'll be doing the calculations and scale modeling this week.
We'd love to get your thoughts.
Price aside, the weight will vary depending on your 6WD. If you use say AM Supershifters and 35 chain, you might even end up weighing as much as if you did mecanum with Toughbox nanos (I haven't checked this yet).

Honestly, any drive system can work, the question is really which one is best suited to your goals (and your driver's style).
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