Question about wheel preferences

[jwfoss]

Based on your team number and assumed rookie status as an overall team, I would strongly suggest staying away from mecanums for your first year of competition. There is only ~2 months to kickoff, which I don't believe is enough time to purchase, build, code, and practice with the drivebase.

My suggestion would be to build a 6wd as soon as you get the kit of parts, and start driving it. You should be able to source everything you need directly from the KOP with a few additions. A well built kitbot can out perform ~50%+ of what teams put on the field each year.

Go watch the "Kitbot on Steriods" video that team 1114 was nice enough to film and post for everyones use. If you find you would like to improve upon the KOP chassis setup, review the gearing and consider using treaded wheels, IFI/VexPro and AndyMark have lots of options available.

As a rookie, build a simple robot that you know how to maintain and fix, and really focus on your superstructure/manipulators that interact with the field and game element.

I am personally tired of the mecanum vs. 6wd debate; each have there uses, tradeoff, and advantages. This opinion is not based on my preference of traction drives vs. omni-directional drives. It is based on the resources, cost, and training that I believe are required to produce a solid rookie robot.