As a team that has successfully implemented #25 chain in numerous situations, including both drive-trains and serious arm mechanisms, we switched to #35 this year for our drive after snapping #25 a few times.
A few things I've seen in our own robot:
Alignment is key. A chassis/drive pod/drive assembly must maintain that alignment under all game conditions. This includes thrashing around on a defense. A chain that looks well-aligned statically may not be aligned at all when dynamic loading is considered.
Related: if you're not using beveled sprockets, you're going to have a bad time.
Shock loading is brutal this year. With dramatically inconsistent contact with traction surfaces during defense crossing wheels will spin up, then catch, then spin up again. This dynamic behavior can potentially overload chain.
If you use #25 chain, make sure you're using #25 HD chain. Typical #25 chain is quite weak.
As mentioned we changed our drive-train to #35 this year. We are still using #25HD on our main shoulder joint though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchskull
What is wrong with half links? Are they extremely weak?
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Extremely weak... maybe... weaker... yes.
I'm a programmer by training and inclination, so my mechanical ideas are sometimes rather, um, loosely constrained by physical reality. - Alan Anderson [more] 
29-02-2016, 16:40
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