Drive Base Help

[DaveL]

Quote: Our major concern is being able to get over drive obstacles-have any teams run into issues with 6-inch wheels on obstacles?

We first considered 6" wheels on the current KoP frame and found the wheel center was too low to get over the rock wall. Thus we went for 8" pneumatic wheels. Even then, our frame hit the rock wall. To help us get over, we cut the side rails to hit the rock wall with an inclined face of the frame.

Another option we considered was a custom lower axle location. Due to our lack of machining tools and expected build time, we opted out of this option.

Last summer we built some robots out of 3/4" plywood. We used wood blocks in the corners to add strength. It worked great and was very cheap.

I like the idea of using 8 wheels with a diameter of 8". A number of top teams used this approach. If you have a drill press, you can clamp all the frame rails together and drill one axle at a time, so the axle holes line up. If you use chain the axle hole positions won't be as critical as if you were using belts.

Let us know how it goes.

Dave