Questions about crab/swerve drive.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Steve_Alaniz

Could you give some examples please? Any drive that might stall will have problems but that is pretty much ...any drive. I think you are referring to a transmission problem that might occur under stress but I wouldn't want to put words in your mouth. You are correct that the slick surface allowed for easy turning but our drive actually worked better on carpet, so it was actually a challenge for the drivers to adjust to the regolith.
Our shafts were 1/2 in steel so they were not going to break but we did worry a bit about the transmission so we used the banebot 16:1. I am under the illusion we were pretty bullet proof. At least we plan to build on what we learned this year.

I'm actually referring to the loads the module itself has to deal with, the sideloads on the module can be massive if you turn while moving, or are pushed, or just about any situation really.

Many modules I saw this year made me think, "wow, if that was on carpet, it would just collapse when you turn".

Working isn't good enough, it has to "Work" while turning at 20fps and getting it from another robot, or being pushed sideways by two robots. If your modules can't survive those loads, it'll be a rough season.