The best multi-speed transmission

[Travis Covington]

Originally Posted by squirrel

I still haven't figured out what the advantages are to having a lightweight drive transmission, though.

The removal of weight from any system is an advantage. It gives you the ability to use that weight elsewhere, for another system, or simply as a buffer when you add things you hadn't planned to add. The argument I have heard is, "When you remove 4lbs from the base, you are just gonna end up adding it to the arm!!" Wrong!! You cant have that mentality when you design things... any weight savings from any system is an advantage. Hell, if we wanted to, we could add a 4lb block of lead to the VERY bottom of the robot, below where the CG of all the material that we removed was. Thats a pretty obvious advantage right there, and we havent changed the weight of any other system on the robot. Also, the removal of weight from rotating parts increases efficiency and acceleration. Just like lighter weight flywheels help your engine rev faster, lighter gears enable your motors to start and stop more quickly.

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by Travis Covington

The argument I have heard is, "When you remove 4lbs from the base, you are just gonna end up adding it to the arm!!" Wrong!! You cant have that mentality when you design things...

I agree! but having that weight already committed to the drive base forces the rest of the robot to be as light as possible.

[Alpha 997]

Originally Posted by squirrel

I agree! but having that weight already committed to the drive base forces the rest of the robot to be as light as possible.

Good point. But the extra weight somewhere else would still be nice.

[Travis Covington]

Originally Posted by squirrel

I agree! but having that weight already committed to the drive base forces the rest of the robot to be as light as possible.

And then when you are 4lbs overweight, you drill two thousand holes in everything to remove the weight...

I can see where your argument is valid had we sacrificed strength for weight savings, or something similar... But in our case, we sacrificed nothing, and saved nearly 10 pounds total from our previous years chassis and drivetrain with the same if not better robustness and strength.

[Alpha 997]

Originally Posted by Travis Covington

And then when you are 4lbs overweight, you drill two thousand holes in everything to remove the weight...

I can see where your argument is valid had we sacrificed strength for weight savings, or something similar... But in our case, we sacrificed nothing, and saved nearly 10 pounds total from our previous years chassis and drivetrain with the same if not better robustness and strength.

Where did you guys get the transmission?

[MrForbes]

In your case, you apparently did not have to sacrifice anything for the weight savings. In our case, bulding our own lightweight transmissions would mean not building the rest of the robot! due to limited resources.

I think if you set the weight budget about 10 lbs under the max weight allowed, and you keep track of it during build, you can probably get the robot done within wieght. Also if you start with a heavy drive base, it's easier to shave weight off it at the end if needed, than if you start with it as light as possible.

[Joe Ross]

Don't forget this one: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=26490

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

Don't forget this one: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=26490

That's a custom tranny. It falls under the first one, because you can change it to fit your own bot. However, it is really nice... except for the cluster shifting. Make it dog and I'd love it.