Direct Drive CIM Through Toughbox

[Nemo]

Mecanums / direct driving Toughbox Nanos / Kit Frame is a light drive that's fast to build. Direct drive is the way to go, especially since it saves a lot of time monkeying around with chains. We used it in 2011 and did well.

I really like the Toughbox Nano. It's light and small, and it rolls very smoothly. Very nice little box.

[cmrnpizzo14]

We have done direct driven CIMs for mecanum in previous years. It works much better than chains (in our opinion!) and we have used nano tubes instead of tough boxes. They worked well for us!

[jbsmithtx]

So, with all of these gearboxes, the andymark hubs are still necessary, right?

[thedude019]

It is very possible the team I'm on 3260 used mecanums for last year to line up right next the hoops and so far every year we just put a hub on a wheel a key in the output shaft screw the end in with a few large washers and ur ready to go

[pfreivald]

We used direct-drive BB p80s on our octocanum drive last year, but have switched to direct-drive AM Toughbox minis for this year.

Make sure to support the ends of the shaft and make sure that your gear box mounts aren't going to bend/warp, and the setup is an absolute beast.

[Donut]

Originally Posted by jbsmithtx

So, with all of these gearboxes, the andymark hubs are still necessary, right?

A hub of some sort is necessary, but the shafts are compatible with more than just Andymark products. We're actually going to use the Toughbox Nanotubes with VexPro hubs and Mecanum wheels this year. I believe we have all the parts now, but we probably won't start building the drivetrain until sometime next week.

[jbsmithtx]

None of the designs shown seem to support the other side of the wheel, so you are putting all the force on one side of the wheel... Would this not destroy the gear boxes or bend the shafts when you have 120 pounds on it? Is there some way I'm not seeing where their outer sides are supported, similar to the way the kitbot wheels are set up?

[pfreivald]

I'm a big fan of robustness in FRC robots, and would not recommend having any drive shaft unsupported on one end as a general principle. You'll note in this picture that the long output shaft is supported at the edge of the robot by a pillow block.