2583 Off-Season Drivetrain Help

[karomata]

I would use chain instead of pulley belts, they don't slip as much and are more reliable.

[Gregor]

Originally Posted by karomata

I would use chain instead of pulley belts, they don't slip as much and are more reliable.

Really? How do you know? What do you mean by "don't slip as much," and why are they "more reliable?"

There is no defined better in terms of chains or belts.

[Garret]

I think you may want to increase the vertical dimension of the frame members (1x2 instead of 1x1) and then add bearings for the wheel axles, the way it is now with the live axle going straight through the frame member will not work (at least not work well). Also you should probably get the live axle hub into those wheels instead of the bearings for a dead axle.

Another thing you should probably do is add a gusset on top of the outer frame members in addition to the ones on the bottom. Doing this should really increase the strength of the chassis.

As always you should consider whether or not you need that much material for whatever application you are using it for, my guess is that you could drop the thickness in a few areas, though its hard to tell from the picture.

It's a good start nevertheless.

[DELurker]

As others have said, the pics look really good. I have some suggestions (don't we all?), but they're more in the vein of improvements or decisions rather than criticisms, however they may sound.

1) It looks like you're using 1x1x1/8 wall tubing. You may want to look at using 1x1x1/16 wall instead. Half the weight, and the bumpers should be taking most of the impact load anyway.
2) You may want to bring the wheels inboard of the outer frame elements. This would protect the wheels, reduce torquing/twisting through the frame, and make mounting the bumpers easier/more solid.
3) The comments others have made about the dual pulley systems are spot on. If you need to attach a second pulley and don't have enough shaft, you could bolt the second pulley to the first with two bolts.
4) You may want to consider a means of tensioning the timing belts you are using. There's nothing more frustrating than mounting everything up and then finding out that the pulleys are too far apart for the belt to fit over the flanges.
5) Since you have the time right now, see if you can design up or find a common design that will allow you to demount and remount the timing belts without doing anything other than detensioning the belts. Although FRC is not as brutal on timing belts as industrial machinery, I've seen too many oddball thing happen to discount the possibility.
6) You may want to change how the shafts are set up. Rather than putting shaft holes through your frame structure, try mounting a block off the frame that accepts the shaft end.
7) I personally am a big fan of bronze bushings over ball bearings in FRC. I've never had a chance to use them in a drivetrain and am not sure I would want to, but if you used them, your shafts can sit in the bushings and the bushings can be Loctited (641) into place.