Simple 2-Speed 6WD for teams with few manufacturing resources

[Madison]

In the Fall each year, I often give presentations to Washington state teams about drive design and considerations. In my most recent presentation, I recommended that teams investigate the popular new "Kitbot on Steroids" concept put forward by 1114, but did so with no real experience with the kitbot or modifications of it of my own. I trust 1114 enough to know that the advice is good advice, but I wanted to see what it would take to build an enhanced Kitbot and to do so with as few manufacturing steps as possible.

The design requires the following power tools:

• Band saw
• Drill Press
• Scroll Saw
• Belt Sander
• Grinding Wheel

The design was built around the following requirements:

• High traction 6WD wheel arrangement
• Shifting 2-speed transmissions
• 4 CIM motors for drive
• Active chain tensioning
• Electrically isolated control systems area
• No precise machining required
• As many COTS parts as reasonable

I will continue adding to this thread with more detailed information. I hope to include a complete bill of materials, more detailed views of wheel and tensioner assemblies, and maybe even drawings.

There's a STEP model attached. It isn't perfect; I took some shortcuts and so, if you look closely, you'll find that some of my bolts aren't located quite properly. By and large, though, I think it's accurate enough to work from.