6 Wheel Tank Drive or Just Stait up Tank Tread?

[jcarm]

ok thanks for the responses, i did look around and saw some different designs. But if i could get like a list of pros and cons on the two based on experience and reaserch, i think we may be going with a wider robot this year so any types of drive train that would be good for that would be helpful.
Thanks again

[Djur]

Tank Treads
Pros:
-Constant platform of support
-Can go halfway off bridge, assuming central or rear center of gravity
-Hard for opponents to push around
-Good traction
Cons:
-Very expensive
-Complex
-Narrow range of uses
-Torque issues

6wd
Pros:
-Good support platform
-Can go halfway off bridge, assuming central or rear center of gravity
-Fast turning
Cons:
-Typically on 4 out of 6 wheels
-Complicated


There are just my team's observations of other teams in the regionals (Boston) over the past few years. We've always stuck with 4wd Mecanum, so no first-hand experience.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Djur

Cons:
-Typically on 4 out of 6 wheels
-Complicated

6WDs are on 4 out of 6 wheels, but the drop is so negligible that it never seems to matter with sticky traction wheels.

If 6WD is mechanically complicated, you've got a problem.

[Djur]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

If 6WD is mechanically complicated, you've got a problem.

It's not so much intrinsically complicated as it is more complicated than a typical 4wd setup and might have more potential points of failure (it depends on how power is transmitted from the gearboxes to each wheel).