Mecanum Suspension Movement

[Madison]

Originally Posted by DeepWater

Ahh, I now see the racquetballs and tennis balls and more importantly understand how they are used. What are the advantages of using a tennis ball for this purpose over a spring or a split chassis?

I avoided a split chassis in the end because I felt that attaching upper structure to it would become troublesome, given its flexibility. It's possible to integrate the split chassis into a larger, stiffer frame, but that comes with a significant weight penalty.

I think a spring is an ideal solution, but I didn't feel comfortable making assumptions about how much travel and force would be appropriate from a spring. The tennis ball and the current arrangment allow for us to quickly try different objects. With sufficient testing, I'd feel more comfortable approximating the characteristics of, say, a tennis ball with a spring.