Team 3495 Drivetrain teaser

[Valkonn]

Not to stoke the fire or anything, but JPBlacksmiths' prediction was correct. We encountered a lot of slipping when trying to go over the obstacles. We just weren't getting enough contact from the belt to the sprocket, only about a fifth of the sprocket was being used.

We have since switched to using chain (for the first time ever) for our four modules. We still have belts going from the gearbox to the modules, as it has much better contact and does not slip whatsoever.

Thanks for everyones opinion on the matter, they were taken into consideration and our robot is much more effective because of it.

[jkelleyrtp]

Originally Posted by Valkonn

Not to stoke the fire or anything, but JPBlacksmiths' prediction was correct. We encountered a lot of slipping when trying to go over the obstacles. We just weren't getting enough contact from the belt to the sprocket, only about a fifth of the sprocket was being used.

We have since switched to using chain (for the first time ever) for our four modules. We still have belts going from the gearbox to the modules, as it has much better contact and does not slip whatsoever.

Thanks for everyones opinion on the matter, they were taken into consideration and our robot is much more effective because of it.

The general rule of thumb is 120 deg engagement for belts/pulleys and sprocket/chain. This can be mitigated through the use of static rollers or properly designing the system to accommodate belt lengths. ALWAYS use a belt length tool like WCP to determine lengths. Never design your modules and then try to fit a belt on.

IMO belts run smoother, weigh less, and require less maintenance than chain. Properly tensioned belts will give you less headache than chain that is "cut to fit" because you are slave to the number of links in the chain. Also, behavior of #25 chain is different than #35 and might introduce slip into the system.

[Valkonn]

Yeah, we usually don't mess this up but this robot required a lot more power than we originally thought. We had to re-gear our drivetrain but it's looking really good after all the stuff we did.

I agree with you on belts though, they are a lot cleaner than chain.