East Coast Drive

[IronicDeadBird]

Originally Posted by allgoodthehood

My friend on another team and I are having an intense debate about whether or not East Coast Drive is a thing? Does it exist?

I believe so unless the mechanical team lied to me again

[Chris is me]

Not really, no. Not to the same extent as "West Coast Drive", which is fairly common, popular, and has many ubiquitous elements. (Cantilevered wheels, rectangular tube, a direct driven wheel, etc)

The closest thing there would be to an "East Coast Drive" would be a drive similar to the style used by teams like 11 and 125 - 1/4"ish aluminum plate, usually lightened, held together with standoffs. Non cantilevered wheels, sometimes dead axles in order to take advantage of the "free" standoff these axles become, and often not direct drive. Chain reductions between the gearbox and the wheels are common.

This isn't a thing anyone really calls an "East Coast Drive" except in a tongue-in-cheek manner, though, and it's certainly not as popular. It's difficult to design an "east coast drive" that is as light, rigid, and easy to manufacture as a WCD, but as with all design decisions in FRC it comes down to what works best for your team.

On a related note, my team (2791) made an "east coast drive" in 2010. Without much experience, we were unable to make this drivetrain as light or as rigid as it should have been, and we have had a much easier / better time with our WCDs since then.

[allgoodthehood]

Well I know that "East Coast Drive" is commonly used in the Midwest, but it's not used in other places?

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

The closest thing there would be to an "East Coast Drive" would be a drive similar to the style used by teams like 11 and 125 - 1/4"ish aluminum plate, usually lightened, held together with standoffs. Non cantilevered wheels, sometimes dead axles in order to take advantage of the "free" standoff these axles become, and often not direct drive. Chain reductions between the gearbox and the wheels are common.

By which you mean a Brandon Holley Drive? It's moved to belts in recent years. Though this year we're running chain to make the pods narrower. 2 live axles and one dead per side this year. Last year was all live. I think the only defining characteristic is the parallel plate construction.

[dtengineering]

And a North Coast Drive would be like an east coast drive, but made of wood, in Canada. (Why do none of these smileys come with a toque?)

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/35536

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/35517

Jason

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

By which you mean a Brandon Holley Drive? It's moved to belts in recent years. Though this year we're running chain to make the pods narrower. 2 live axles and one dead per side this year. Last year was all live. I think the only defining characteristic is the parallel plate construction.

If anything I would say 233 popularized that drive style. You can trace theirs back to at least 2003. Perhaps earlier.

[mrnoble]

I thought Colson wheels were a hallmark of East Coast, along with the dead axles. Something about battle bots?

[JohnFogarty]

Non-cantilievered drivetrains with colson wheels have origin in battlebots. My 1102 mentor's battlebot "Jabberwock" had them.

Refrence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS9i8JgLjTU

Yes the match is over in 30 seconds.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Cory

If anything I would say 233 popularized that drive style. You can trace theirs back to at least 2003. Perhaps earlier.

I mean, yes. I was mostly making a joke how both teams Chris listed had Brando as a member. (Ok, actually they share a lot more people than Brando)

[bludeath]

Come on give some love to the 4 wheel omni drivetrain. The drive system i have dreamed about building or at least programming with a nav6 IMU. Keeping in mind that a 4 wheel omni base may not be the best choice for field oriented control. Maybe one day i can be that lucky!!!

[fargus111111111]

So, if I understand this right the kit base is a "east coast drive"

[Kevin Leonard]

What I would consider an "East Coast Drive" is what many New England Teams still use, and 20 used in 2012/pre-2009. Generally box tubing or C-Channel 4-8 wheel drive dead axle.
Generally this can be effective for teams who have a lot of experience with it, but is outclassed in almost every regard by a good WCD, sheet metal drive, or even the current kitbot.
I'd consider the old styles of kitbot pre-2013 to be "East Coast Drives".