pic: Inverted CIM 2-Speed Gearbox

[KohKohPuffs]

I'm not crazy about the tiny idler gear - seems like it'd wear very quickly and as a result become a detriment to efficiency as the season went on. Is that the largest gear you can get for that initial stage?

So the main purpose of the idler gear is to get the gear space in between the CIMs because the way the gearbox is designed. If we do end up doing idler gears, then we could just replace them with new ones if they ever wear down. On the other hand, the big gear is a 72T gear, so I might be able to replace it with an 84T and remove the idlers. However, I remember on another gearbox I was working with another person, we had trouble with the gear sizes with an 84T.

I plan on making another gearbox of a similar design, and perhaps take a look at Andymark dog gears, which come in smaller diameters, so hopefully that will eliminate the need for dog gears.

I've found colsons tend to be rather grippy if you're aiming for slippage under high traction. Something like sky wheels or the white KOP wheels would work better IMO.

I was thinking this gearbox to be one of those that goes decently fast on high gear, and slow for pushing matches on low (I guess this would be School A?). With that being said, I was considering the nitrile rubber treads that go on Andymark performance wheels.

Hopefully this is the right way to go if I'm going for a maneuverable and defensive bot?