Winnovation Midwest Coast Drive

[Aren_Hill]

Originally Posted by JesseK

1/32" polycarb could be riveted over the holes to prevent debris from cutting the belts. The obvious tradeoff is increased time to repair.

Velcro! or the preferred 3M dual lock

[JamesCH95]

Looks great, very well put-together!

Just a thought about the belt-wear testing: you'll probably want full-grip wheels to test how quickly the belts wear out, otherwise you won't really be putting the belts under full load.

[RookieWookiez]

Are you using 4 or 6 inch wheels?

[Carrington]

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

Looks great, very well put-together!

Just a thought about the belt-wear testing: you'll probably want full-grip wheels to test how quickly the belts wear out, otherwise you won't really be putting the belts under full load.

We are using SBR rough top on the wheels.

Originally Posted by RookieWookiez

Are you using 4 or 6 inch wheels?

They are 4 1/2 inch wheels.

[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by TheLoneAsian

We are using SBR rough top on the wheels.

Ah, very good, though there isn't any tread in the pictures.

[Carrington]

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

Ah, very good, though there isn't any tread in the pictures.

Yeah we just put the tread on the wheels yesterday.

[RookieWookiez]

[quote=TheLoneAsian;972560)

They are 4 1/2 inch wheels.[/QUOTE]

Ok that's an odd size, why not use bigger wheels where u will get more speed out of ur wheels. Do u no how much the wheels weight?

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by RookieWookiez

Ok that's an odd size, why not use bigger wheels where u will get more speed out of ur wheels.

Speed & Torque are a tradeoff in electric motors. 4 1/2" wheels may be appropriate for 1625's general drive train speed/torque targets, and easy adjustments can be made by changing the pullies in the gearbox.

[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by RookieWookiez

Ok that's an odd size, why not use bigger wheels where u will get more speed out of ur wheels. Do u no how much the wheels weight?

Originally Posted by JesseK

Speed & Torque are a tradeoff in electric motors. 4 1/2" wheels may be appropriate for 1625's general drive train speed/torque targets, and easy adjustments can be made by changing the pullies in the gearbox.

Also, smaller wheels let the wheels reach a higher speed with a smaller gear ratio, which is (in theory) more efficient.

Theory is a nice place, I'd like to go there one day.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

Also, smaller wheels let the wheels reach a higher speed with a smaller gear ratio, which is (in theory) more efficient.

Theory is a nice place, I'd like to go there one day.

More importantly, smaller wheels means you spend less weight on wheels AND gears, since you have less of a reduction. Luckily weight isn't that theoretical.

[Carrington]

Originally Posted by RookieWookiez

Ok that's an odd size, why not use bigger wheels where u will get more speed out of ur wheels. Do u no how much the wheels weight?

Our wheels weigh approximately 3/8 of a pound, but they could probably be lighter. We used these wheels because they were easy for us to make and cost effective. If we built this drivetrain in an actual build season we would probably use even smaller wheels made out of aluminum.

[NotSoSiniSter]

Great Design We've been thinking about doing some gear shifting too. Having the extra power would be great

Hopefully, next years field wont have a terrain element that cant be avoided. :/ Clearance is always annoying.

[sdcantrell56]

Absolutely beautiful design and I love the idea of keeping the belts internal. We used belts the past season and they are ridiculously robust as long as you make sure they're tensioned correctly.

My question is did you broach the plastic wheels for direct drive or is there a hub in them?

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

More importantly, smaller wheels means you spend less weight on wheels AND gears, since you have less of a reduction. Luckily weight isn't that theoretical.

Not to mention that small wheels require less material, less tread to tread them, and often less machining time, so they're less expensive to make. (Cost isn't theoretical either )

Oh, and they look cool.

[EricVanWyk]

That looks really pretty, but I'm a total newb when it comes to belt drives.

Can you explain it to me in a way that will allow me to teach it to a team later?

Specifically:
Why belt vs chain?
How do you tension it?
Any quick rules-of-thumb I should know about?

Or better yet, how do I tell if a belt system is good? Often, knowing if the result is good is almost as useful as knowing how to get a good result. {P=NP?}