Team 2338 swerve drive peer review

[daltore]

We used Lexan for our competition bot this last year (3-wheel independent swerve) because it was fairly cheap off of McMaster, but most of all, it can be cut with a band saw and drill press, as we don't have a CNC machine capable of cutting metal (our mentor, Richard, has a home-made CNC machine that can cut wood and softer materials). It was a good learning experience, and it was quite fun. The main thing you'll have to watch out for is side-load on the modules. This past year, there was so little friction between the wheels and the floor that we only had top support for the modules, and it ended up helping with breaking as acting a bit like ABS. However, on carpet with regular wheels, you'd DEFINITELY want a bottom support as well to take all of the lateral force. Actually, this is true for any material you make it out of, as they can all flex, bend, and snap eventually.

Another material I've seen used is sheet aluminum made into boxes. This provides a rigid structure (the cubic frame) that is very light weight, and doesn't cost a whole lot. I forget which team did this, but searching "swerve module" on the Chief Delphi picture gallery will probably bring it up.