Belt vs. Chain

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by lemiant

Ok, so I read 234s paper, and it pretty unequivocally states that belts are better. How come everyone still uses chain?

• We already have a lot of roller chain and sprockets.
• Belts are application specific, you design for an exact length belt. On the other hand chain can be taken off, and shrunk or lengthened for use on future robots.
• 25p roller chain (and its sprockets) are narrower than equivalent timing belt; this is one of the main reasons why we stick with 25p roller chain in the drive train.

Rarely is there ever a truly universal "better" in engineering.