pic: 303 Prototype Sheet Metal Drivebase

[Sam_Mills]

Originally Posted by Tanay T

I just wanted to start a discussion to see what others had to say about this design, particularly on the geartrain. We had bad experiences with belts this year, and in MAR several other teams have done all gear drives particularly well (341 and 25 just to name a few). Any responses would be helpful.

I am not certain, but I think daisy only had 2/4 wheels per side directly driven this year. Dustin may have to correct me on that.

Anyway, one thing to be super careful about is efficiency. 341 puts a ton of effort into really precise machining, speccing parts/materials, and maintenance, and I would assume 25 does the same. Lots of idler gears means not only a lot of weight and a lot of money, but it means a lot of inefficiency.

If you are willing as a team to put this much effort into improving drivetrain performance, IMHO the effort would be better placed learning how to correctly implement timing belts (hint; dead space center to center, no tensioners). They are efficient, light, and far more durable than they are often given credit for.