pic: 6wd prototype chassis

[Collin Buchan]

Originally Posted by NickE

5/8" sounds like overkill for me for dead axles. I would probably recommend 3/8" for that situation.

This is probably true. The ID of the bearings on the AM wheels are 5/8", so if we wanted to make it smaller we'd have to use a hub.

Originally Posted by NickE

Just looking at that design, 7 sprockets per side of the drivetrain, with one direct driven wheel, looks way overkill. I'm not quite sure on the function of the extra four, but it appears to be some sort of elaborate chain run in order to use one chain per side.

As it is, on the center wheel assembly there's a copper bushing (to decrease the 5/8" ID to 1/2"), the wheel, the sprocket, and a keyed hub to drive the whole thing. With this current design, I wasn't able to fit in two sprockets on the wheel assembly and have it all still fit on the extended output shaft of the gearbox. I suppose I could look around for other wheels that aren't as wide and it might kill two birds with one stone - the IFI ones might do the trick.

Originally Posted by NickE

1/4" plate sounds like overkill, but in this situation, it could be necessary to use [relatively] thick sheet metal to maintain rigidity in the chassis. If you have the capability, you might consider adding flanges

I'm not familiar with adding flanges, and I don't know if we have the capability of machining it. If we used 1/8" or 3/16" aluminum, would it be necessary to add flanges to ensure rigidity in the frame? If so, what size would they need to be?