Effective Drive Base

[JohnFogarty]

Going with tank treads we have a good way to make em

The team I'm working with is sponsored by Outback Manufacturing, and they'll be going with tracks built with the sponsor. If people have heard of these or have questions, I'd be glad to answer anything about them.

[DarkAndroid]

Hey I have a question:

Do anyone have any idea to build swerve drive wheels?
Our team needs help designing the wheels and distributing the power from the motors.

I hope anyone can help and i cant wait till i see you all come to my hometown of the St.Louis regional!!!

[cooldude8181]

Originally Posted by Chrono101

I keep thinking tank treads would be a good idea. The bumps would be no problem whatsoever.

My team thinks that the treads would slow us down to much.

Originally Posted by DarkAndroid

Hey I have a question:

Do anyone have any idea to build swerve drive wheels?
Our team needs help designing the wheels and distributing the power from the motors.

I hope anyone can help and i cant wait till i see you all come to my hometown of the St.Louis regional!!!

I would recommend looking at the WildSwerve (look at the Andymark website) if you're interested in doing a swerve. However, if you aren't confident in the design principles behind a crab, I would not recommend undertaking it this late in the season.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

There seems to be a lot of mis-communication and conjecture in this thread. I would suggest you simply build the kit bot using the wheels that came in the KOP and make a determination from that experiment/prototype. Each type of drive carries it's own set of pros and cons and risks for this game. Tank treads will climb but can cause excessive (near stall) current in turns if not implemented properly. Crab drive can be hard to control and requires a ton of practice to get it right. Drive systems that have a low COG on the floor may not have the same stability when crossing the bump. Prototype and then let the team decide which drive seems to work for the strategy and brainstorming you have (should have) done.

[JosephBurns35]

i have also thought of a 6wd base but i am leaning for a 4wd with 8in stickes in the front and 8in omnies in the back this allows for the traction that you will need to go over the bumps it has its drawbacks you have yo go over stright othrwise you will just slide the back sideways. it is also very manoverable used the drive system in 2008
you can easily overcome the botoming out issues by putting a type of rub rail system on the robot like the sample ones had or moving your wheals front to back and even the size of them will help im open to sugestions

[Michael Ogden]

On mecanum wheels: I saw a video of one team (who will remain anonymous) having issues steering with a mecanum drive. If that doesn't turn your mind away from mecanum, AndyMark is coming out with a lighter version of mecanum wheels on Jan. 22.

[carbuff2228]

no mecanum if properly installed will work fine. Are team went with them this year and we think they will work fine for getting over the bumps

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by carbuff2228

no mecanum if properly installed will work fine. Are team went with them this year and we think they will work fine for getting over the bumps

Have you driven a mecanum drive over the bump yet?

[Alexis Howell]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

All the strafing of holonomic or swerve in the world isn't worth anything other robots violently push you across the floor (holonomic) or if your drive breaks (swerve)

My personal favorite for this year (not tied to any teams i'm working with) is a hang up between 3 different skid steer designs.

But if you had a well practiced driver, wouldn't it be easy to avoid other robots with a holonomic drive base? unless of course a couple of robots decided to go into your field area...

Also, rules say a robot can only be pinned for a maximum of 5 seconds.

Also with holonomic, you can just forget about traversing. If it's even important to your strategy.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Alexis Howell

But if you had a well practiced driver, wouldn't it be easy to avoid other robots with a holonomic drive base? unless of course a couple of robots decided to go into your field area...

Field areas are smaller than you think.

Also, rules say a robot can only be pinned for a maximum of 5 seconds.

Pinned, yes, slid across the floor for all of eternity, no.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by JosephBurns35

you can easily overcome the botoming out issues by putting a type of rub rail system on the robot like the sample ones had or moving your wheals front to back and even the size of them will help im open to sugestions

Joe,
Please be careful in suggesting this or implementing something that violates the robot rules. You can't have metal in contact with the carpet as part of your regular drive design.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Joe,
Please be careful in suggesting this or implementing something that violates the robot rules. You can't have metal in contact with the carpet as part of your regular drive design.

Also going off what Al is saying...

Make sure that this kind of system WILL WORK! I saw many teams in 2006 that decided to put some kind of slick rail on the underside of the robot. When the robots attempted to climb the ramp, they would either a. not make it at all b. make it after several attempts, usually ending with a half field ram of the ramp or c. end up on their back side. Just a word of caution.

-Brando

[edison]

can you tell me how to post cant find it we are registered and all
thanks