Drive Trains

[AdamHeard]

I'd say the drive performance you see on the field is 75% driver and 25% the details and craftmanship of the drive.

I've seen 6WD perform amazingly, and terribly.
I've seen Mecanums/omnis do the same.
Same for crab, same for tank tracks and so on.

End all, I think a well built 6wd is what lower resource teams should shoot for as the standard; It performs great and is the most applicable to most games. When 2nd picks come around, often times teams just desperately need a 3rd robot with a decent drive, and most often there isn't one available.

But, no matter what, if your driver is driving the current robot for the first time at the regional, you won't be preforming great. I'd highly recommend a practice robot (or at least a base) for driver practice at home.

[Madison]

Almost none of the specific details of a drive train are relevant to its performance on the field. In 99% of circumstances, wheel type, speed, or torque are inconsequential.

• A successful drive train is reliable -- it functions well all the time. If it breaks or malfunctions, it can be repaired quickly and easily.
  
• It is efficient -- it is well lubricated, quiet, and makes good use of its weight and power. It turns.
  
• It is no more or less complex than it needs to be -- it needs to work for your gameplay strategy. Adding bells and whistles that are beyond the scope of your strategy is a sure-fire way to shoot yourself in the foot.

That's it! It's more easily said than done, of course, but very little else about drives matters if you haven't yet mastered these three things. Once you've got this stuff down cold, you can start to think a bit more about the dynamic operation of the system and what changes and improvements can be made to make the most of that remaining 1% of circumstances when power, speed and torque matter.

[Rick TYler]

KISMIL: Keep it simple, make it last.

[Shadow503]

I loved our drive train this year. It was simple and always the fastest on the field! We have a rear wheel drive powered by 2 cims in direct drive for each wheel. We have powered ackerman steering in the front and software differential in the back. It is innovative yet simplistic XD

I have yet to see a robot out-drive us.