6WD Pros and Cons

[Frinkahedron]

Originally Posted by caraddicted101

I would recommend 6 wheel with the center wheel lowered just a bit. I have found that the amount at which you should lower the center wheel depends on the type of wheels that you are running and the type of tread that you are using. When you lower the center wheel you want to be careful not to lower it too much because the robot may bounce back and fourth when turning hard. I have found that the optimal height to lower the center wheel is between 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. This Has worked for me, but if you use thicker tread, or tread that has a lot of grip you might want to change it a bit. My suggestion would be, if you have time, make the center wheel adjustable and let your drivers test out variable heights. Make sure to allow for the extra weight if you are only running a test chassis, as the extra 80+ pounds that you put on top of the chassis will affect the way the robot reacts.

--hope this will come in handy--

One thing to watch out for, don't try and save weight by using too light of a material on the center axle. Last year, we drove the robot around all day during Space Day at the National Air and Space Museum and the axle and wheel ended up shearing off completely at the end. We replaced them with steel instead of aluminum ones after that.