pic: Team 691 Drivetrain CAD

[steelerborn]

It looks really nice.

I have one question though, I only see two transmissions mounted, are these for the turning of the wheels or the module (I assume the wheels because they are cimple boxes). Just wondering on what you plan to use for the module turning.

[Tytus Gerrish]

Originally Posted by steelerborn

It looks really nice.

I have one question though, I only see two transmissions mounted, are these for the turning of the wheels or the module (I assume the wheels because they are cimple boxes). Just wondering on what you plan to use for the module turning.

it appears to be a coaxial crab drive with drive power supplied to the wheels through a shaft that rides inside the center of the crab module axis. at the top of each module you should see two sets of sprockets. the lower for steering. the upper for propulsion.

the trade off being you can rotate your modules arround and arround forever and not tangle wires, but with mechanical loss in the drive chain limits overall power put to the ground in cpmparison to motor-in module designs

[JVN]

I've said it before -- I don't think any team should spend their resources developing a Swerve drive during the competition/build season.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...84&postcount=2

This is a mechanism intensive game -- there is a lot of development to be done in elevation systems, gripper systems, and minibots. Go with a reliable proven drivetrain, and you'll be MUCH happier with your robot's performance.

The performance gains you could theoretically get from going with a swerve drive will be 100% negated by the effort you'll spend developing it and getting it working, and the effort you'll have moved away from the other developments you could have been doing...

In short, I strongly believe that if you do a swerve drive your robot will be significantly worse than if you hadn't.

That said... good luck, and let us know if you need help.
-John

PS - The CAD models from the 148 2008 swerve are here:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2277 Make sure you use bigger bevel gears than we did...