pic: 1251 Side Plates

[David Guzman]

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[Dan-o]

Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? Looks like 8 wheels to me. How long did your CNC take to mill those? I'm guessing we'll see some lightening holes in those by competition time. Clean design. I like the thickened bearing holders (if that's what they are). Will you be using tank drive steering for this, or will the wheels be controled somewhat independantly?

Nice Job.

[EricH]

I'm guessing tank tracks.

[Madison]

It looks like 6WD with the guts of an AM shifter built into the drive modules; single chain with multiple idlers.

Why didn't y'all cut them loose from the raw stock at the same you put in all of the pocketing?

[Cowmankoza]

Originally Posted by Dan-o

Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? Looks like 8 wheels to me. How long did your CNC take to mill those? I'm guessing we'll see some lightening holes in those by competition time. Clean design. I like the thickened bearing holders (if that's what they are). Will you be using tank drive steering for this, or will the wheels be controlled somewhat independently?

Nice Job.

Good eye, You are correct with the 8 wheel drive, the CNC took roughly 2 hours for each plate, however, no lightening holes are necessary since the plate is pocketed in so many places to reduce the weight. It will be tank steered, the front wheels are slightly raised above the rest to allow turning.

[otomerobot]

Those things are beasts

[sdcantrell56]

That looks a lot like the drivetrain I designed last year. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/28413

I really like it!!!

[techtiger1]

Madison to answer your question about the pockets and the holes. The answer is they were machined separately to ensure the tight tolerances required on the hole layout since the whole drive train goes in between two of the plates. The plate started off square because it could be held in many vices oriented longways down the cnc machine, so the holes could be cut. Then once the holes were cut the piece was taken out of the vices and bolted on to a blank square plate using some of the existing holes to bolt the plate down so it could then be pocketed and further machined. I hope that answers your questions. The plates are pretty light but could be lighter and probably will be eventually. The majority of the plate is only 1/8in thick.

-Drew

[AdamHeard]

1/8" is pretty thick for the pocketing.

Last year on 294 we had similar side rails from 3/8" Al that were pocketed down to 1/16".

[David Guzman]

Here is some information:

-The plates are 3/8" thick, and where the pockets are located it went down to 1/8". It is a little thicker (7/32") on the part where the gearbox goes.

-We will be using the dog gear from AndyMark, however we machined our own dog pockets in the gears, shafts, piston holder, etc. This allows us to have the ratios we want, and the motors we want...

-Each plate weights 2.89 lbs.

-Yes, 8 wheel drive with 6 always in contact with the ground.

-The correct CNC time per plate is about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

[redbarron]

Wow those are some pretty side plates lol..... I always have loved your bases and now that we are both 8 wheel drive we will have to team up again for sure I cant wait to see that base in Florida and Palmetto!!!