Poll:2010 How many wheel drive are you using?

[Chris is me]

8 wheel drive is going to be common enough that I would highly recommend you add it to the poll. 2791 is doing 8 wheel.

[sdcantrell56]

1771 is going with 8wd

[Joe Johnson]

Team #2849, Ursa Major, (and I) are going with 12 Wheel Drive.

Why? It seemed like a good idea at the time ;-)

Honestly, because I am paranoid of getting stuck on those bumps and 12WD seemed like a good way to prevent that from happening.

Would 8WD been enough? Perhaps, but with each new crossing the bump video that gets uploaded to youtube, I grow more convinced that 12WD has its advantages...

Joe J.

[Matt382]

Originally Posted by Joe Johnson

Team #2849, Ursa Major, (and I) are going with 12 Wheel Drive.

Why? It seemed like a good idea at the time ;-)

Honestly, because I am paranoid of getting stuck on those bumps and 12WD seemed like a good way to prevent that from happening.

Would 8WD been enough? Perhaps, but with each new crossing the bump video that gets uploaded to youtube, I grow more convinced that 12WD has its advantages...

Joe J.

Yeah I think a lot of teams will be going with 8wd (we are). The reason 488's robot tipped like that (like many 6wd drive robots will) is because a lot of their weight is distributed in the back. If you can keep your weight balanced correctly, even with 8wd drive, you wouldn't flop like that. (We watched our robot cross the bump on CAD, but haven't gotten the chance to test it in real life yet).

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Matt382

Yeah I think a lot of teams will be going with 8wd (we are). The reason 488's robot tipped like that (like many 6wd drive robots will) is because a lot of their weight is distributed in the back. If you can keep your weight balanced correctly, even with 8wd drive, you wouldn't flop like that. (We watched our robot cross the bump on CAD, but haven't gotten the chance to test it in real life yet).

Be aware that with a centered CoG, you will still have a pretty spectacular fall over the bump due to momentum unless you take it somewhat slowly. But not too slowly that you get defended easily. Driving is hard...

8wd shouldn't be high centering diagonally too much. 488's video basically demonstrated you have to be completely sideways to high center.

[Andrew Schuetze]

The low clearance of a standard chassis with 8 wheels scares me now that I see it getting high centered on the hump sideways. That just seems to be another plus for the using the KOP stand-offs. The big negative is raising one's CG.

[Ken Leung]

Originally Posted by Joe Johnson

Team #2849, Ursa Major, (and I) are going with 12 Wheel Drive.

Why? It seemed like a good idea at the time ;-)

Honestly, because I am paranoid of getting stuck on those bumps and 12WD seemed like a good way to prevent that from happening.

Would 8WD been enough? Perhaps, but with each new crossing the bump video that gets uploaded to youtube, I grow more convinced that 12WD has its advantages...

Joe J.

I agree, except in this case I think less is more.

We are going with 4 wheels this year after a demonstration showing the dynamics is much more stable than 8 wheels could ever achieve.

Most 8 wheel drives are counting on very low center of gravity, except I don't think you can count on that if you want to do any sort of hanging, or if the CG is anywhere near 10-12 inches off the ground.

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by Ken Leung

<snip>
We are going with 4 wheels this year after a demonstration showing the dynamics is much more stable than 8 wheels could ever achieve.

<snip>

Hey Ken,

Long time, no see (though more my fault than yours).

But... ...there you go again making blanket statements that may come back to haunt you.

Of course it is possible to make an 8WD or even a 12WD that is less stable than a 4WD robot going over the bump, I would just caution you about making statements that beg to be proven wrong.

"There are no black swans" only requires 1 observation to be wrong. "Black swans are rare" is a safer statement that is less likely to put egg on the face of the speaker.

Joe J.

[JVN]

Team 148's robot will have 14 wheels in the drivetrain.

Seriously.

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by JVN

Team 148's robot will have 14 wheels in the drivetrain.

Seriously.

MAN! I thought I was doing so well with 12WD.

Ah well. If you are going to be beat, you may as well get beat by the best. No shame in that. Well played JVN, well played...

However... ...One day, I am going to recover my FIRST Kingdom and I will rebuild my FIRST Design House and my FIRST Machine Shop... ...I will once again join the ranks of FIRST SupePowers, as it was in days of yore... ...When that day comes, you can only only IMAGINE how high N will be in my N Wheel Drive creations! The digits shall reach from sea to shining sea. Muhahahahahaaaaaaa!!!!*


Joe J.

*Spoken in an evil voice somewhat akin to Mojo Jojo's

[Chuck Glick]

Originally Posted by JVN

Team 148's robot will have 14 wheels in the drivetrain.

Seriously.

To those who don't know how this is possible, take a look at 703's drivetrain from 2007: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/26312

Now just take that, replace the polycarb sides with the traditional stamped aluminum sheet (IFI style), paint it black with red anodized wheels and I bet you are close to what it will look like. I'm sure it will be another stunner just like the 148 bots have been since '07.

I am excited to see what team IFI pumps out this year, especially 148 after this news.

[Wayne TenBrink]

8 Wheels total. 6" dia. Wide chassis. Corner wheels on the ground. Plaction in front, Omni's in back. Middle 4 wheels elevated 2". All powered. Center of Gravity around 7".

[ParkerF]

Originally Posted by Chuck Glick

To those who don't know how this is possible, take a look at 703's drivetrain from 2007: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/26312

Now just take that, replace the polycarb sides with the traditional stamped aluminum sheet (IFI style), paint it black with red anodized wheels and I bet you are close to what it will look like. I'm sure it will be another stunner just like the 148 bots have been since '07.

I am excited to see what team IFI pumps out this year, especially 148 after this news.

Not quite...

-Parker

[Chuck Glick]

Originally Posted by francistexas

Not quite...

-Parker

14 wheel swerve?!?!

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by Chuck Glick

14 wheel swerve?!?!

Yes it is so obvious now that you say that. 8WD fore/aft + 6WD left/right.

It's BRILLIANT!

...or...

it is a whole lot of bother not that much gain...

The truth will out.

Joe J.