pic: Team 1718 Treads

[Craig Roys]

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[sanddrag]

Very nice. Where did those treads/belts come from and what part number are they?

[Craig Roys]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Very nice. Where did those treads/belts come from and what part number are they?

The belts are custom made by one of our sponsors - Industrial Extrusion Belting in Cassopolis, MI.

[Lil' Lavery]

Is there only one tread assembly on each side of the robot? If so, I think you may have some stability issues if you decide to persue the ramp (unless your really short, which you can't really tell from the picture).
Sweet looking treads though.

[matt101]

What is the tread made of? From the picture it looks like its some type of rubber or something.

[Eric Scheuing]

It doesn't look like you get much traction on those; rather smooth, but it really depends on the total weight of the bot, I guess.

[LightWaves1636]

80/20?!?!?!?!?!?! I LOVE 80/20!!!!!!!! So strong and yet so light, the t-brackets, where they can slide ina dnout, no rivting, ahhhhh, the bliss of this stuff. lol, sorry, I just love the stuff so much.

[Craig Roys]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Is there only one tread assembly on each side of the robot? If so, I think you may have some stability issues if you decide to persue the ramp (unless your really short, which you can't really tell from the picture).
Sweet looking treads though.

Yes, just one tread assembly per side. The treads are just under 24" end to end and we are 38" wide. We have no problems climbing the ramp head on. If we turn sideways, we can bottom out, but we've yet to find a position we can't get out of - at least one of the treads always has contact with the ground. We also have at least 80% of our total weight low on the robot to help with stability on the ramp.

[Craig Roys]

Originally Posted by Eric Scheuing

It doesn't look like you get much traction on those; rather smooth, but it really depends on the total weight of the bot, I guess.

That's what I thought when I first saw them, but I was proven way wrong. The rubber on the outside, although smooth, is very soft so it grips well. It pushed a 180 lb person sitting on their butt across the carpet with the robot weight only around 50 lbs. And because of our short and wide config, we are still able to turn easily enough.

[DjAlamose]

Originally Posted by Craig Roys

The belts are custom made by one of our sponsors - Industrial Extrusion Belting in Cassopolis, MI.

Just to remind you that although the part was made by your sponsor and it might have been donated, you still have to have it in the B.O.M. and the materials that went into making the product acounted for in the overall cost of the robot. Although it was free, there was still some expence in making it and that has to be accounted for.

But those treads are quite nice, the smooth surface might not get as much traction as a ruffed up one though, in my opinion I would lightly take a file to it (a rough one) to give them a little more grip. I also love the use of 80-20, that stuff is soo awsome!

[bbehnke]

very nice, those wheels look like they weigh 20lbs. each

[Craig Roys]

Originally Posted by bbehnke

very nice, those wheels look like they weigh 20lbs. each

Each wheel is just under 3.5 lbs. Each tread assembly is about 12 lbs. The chassis in that picture weighs just under 50 lbs.