Chains for 6 wheel drive

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I really, really like the simplicity of using extrusion and sliding blocks to tension chain like that. Have any teams successfully implemented this in a high traction drivetrain? Machining bearing blocks out of solid and making a reliable mechanism to hold them in place and adjust them as needed is difficult, and this looks too simple.

In 2003 and 2004 when I was on team 100 we used 80/20 and a similar method of sliding pillow blocks for dead axles to tension the chain.

It didn't work very well at all for us because we were not actually pulling/pushing the blocks with something. We were just physically by hand pulling the wheel until the chain was tight and then bolting it down. It didn't take long for the blocks to slip in the extrusion.

If you were to setup a screw that either pushed or pulled the wheel to the outside of the robot and kept everything in tension to resist sliding it would work much more effectively.