Question about worm gears

[AndyB]

Now on an opposite note of my last post, 269 has been using worm gears for the past 4 or 5 seasons, and has never once had a single problem with a gearbox. Worm drives are pretty simple to build but do require lots of care as far as lubrication goes.

Worm drives are also very nice for the no-backdrive feature many find, but not all worms will provide this effect, so be careful in those regards.

In an ordinary drive scenario, (6wd, 4wd, front-wheel steering), I would say worm gears provide enough benefit to at least not rule them out right away. But on a more complex system like crab, the only real advantage for the worm gears are the noise, and there is an obvious coolness factor.

I've heard stories from one of the Hill's that 269's robot can really sneak up on you on the practice field if you aren't watching it.