Drive systems

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by Roboticsismylif

We have protyped the tank treads we would be using, and they're basically built. It's just we have been hearing some bad things about treads. We also do have a shooter on our robot to throw balls to the other side and make shoots if we have to.

Make sure you test them on carpet. Floor =/= carpet, and turning is often a problem in high-traction drive trains.

[Kevin Ray]

We've done tank treads twice and they were awesome both times, but you have to have a lower pivot point in the middle of the track to aid in your turning. They also tend to be heavier overall than wheel systems--at least in our experience.
Finally, I agree...NEVER go into the build season planning to be a defensive bot. It's a recipe for failure. It's tantamount to playing basketball and only being defensive. Sooner or later the other guy(s) gonna score and you will be down points. You can almost always be a help by somehow getting balls to your allies so that they don't have to travel to the other side to get them. Be defensive only when everything else fails at the END of the build season--not in the beginning.

[Easton8]

From my experience treads are a real pain to use, and for a team that has never done them before I would definitely not recommend it. Building a basic 6WD from the kit of parts would be a lot simpler and save you a considerable amount of time and money. As for playing "defense" I would not recommend designing a robot for that, even if you think thats all you can build. To be an asset on the field you don't necessarily need an amazing robot that can score on the highest basket from half court every time. In fact a robot with just a decent shooter that stays on the other side of the field and feeds balls to other robots would almost as valuable an asset.

[Roboticsismylif]

We not actually using treads. We're planning on using a v-belt that has teeth on booth sides. We also are going with a rocker(spelling) bar like design. Kind of like a bulldozer. When we do turn the bot the treads turn in opposite directions. When this happens the rocker bar picks up the pulleys on the bottom ends leaving only the middle touching, reducing the amount of stress while turning.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by Roboticsismylif

We not actually using treads. We're planning on using a v-belt that has teeth on booth sides. We also are going with a rocker(spelling) bar like design. Kind of like a bulldozer. When we do turn the bot the treads turn in opposite directions. When this happens the rocker bar picks up the pulleys on the bottom ends leaving only the middle touching, reducing the amount of stress while turning.

That's pretty cool!