pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Bold statement. I would wager 254 was quicker for sure.

I'll stand by it

Originally Posted by runneals

What are the specs on this baby? FPS? Looks like something Aren_Hill might enjoy! Can't wait to talk to you more & see it in action at IRI!

17.3 free speed. It was as fast as we dared go on a 90lb robot without fearing constantly tripping breakers.

Originally Posted by DampRobot

This might just be me being blind, but is the way those idler gears rotate just a frictional bearing between an aluminium round shaft and the hex on the gear?

Just curious, I'm happy to take your experience at face value, but did you happen to run any tests of this drive train compared to a similarly geared belt or chain one, in terms of efficiency or speed? I'm a big believer in chain/belt drives, but I can certainly see the advantages to this type of drive, especially if the efficiency is as high as other drive types.

Any plans for integrating some sort of reduction into those idler gears? You could probably make those side rails with a slick little integrated drive gearbox. It would be almost like 610's setup, but with gears instead of chain.

All shafts are on bearings and no comparison testing was done. There is reduction built into the gear arrangement and it's driven by a custom single reduction gearbox. The reason we ran 4" wheels for the first time was to reduce the reduction needed.

Originally Posted by Foster

Ahhhh Steampunk drivetrain. Love the gears and the different sizes.

I was pleased to hear that it's a custom frame supporting them, so there is the quiet whirr of fully meshed gears vs mismatched gears or chains rolling around. So you've built the Rolls Royce of 6 wheel drive.

Can you say a few words about lubrication at the shafts and at the gear faces?

Well we are sponsored by Rolls Royce
You can see the lubrication we used in the picture.