paper: Cyber Blue 234 Belt vs Chain Technical Evaluation

[sdcantrell56]

I definitely looked at there robot and I have many pictures saved of there robot. I have also talked with them about timing belt a little bit. IMO timing belt is far more effective than chain. The past 2 years, we have run #25 chain without incident and without any tensioning devices. While initially this would seem ok, the chain did still stretch. With kevlar reinforced belt, this problem would be eliminated. Additionally, changing belt for many designs would be as simple as changing wheels, which is something that many teams do throughout there regionals due to using conveyor tread. In our drivetrain this year it would have been almost as easy to replace belt as chain and certainly in the future it could be made even easier. Timing pulleys, especially polycarbonate ones, are much lighter than sprockets and cheaper as well. While I have had an enjoyable experience with #25 chain, I am also eager to test out timing belt for myself.