04-07-2013 21:00

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

The new set of gears are looking pretty good! Quick question - why did you choose to have a gear-driven drive instead of the conventional chains/belts? Do you feel like the added complexity/weight/inefficiency (if any) hindered your driving?

04-07-2013 22:28

Akash Rastogi

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Looks shiny. I'm excited to discuss any pros and cons you experienced with this setup while at IRI in a few days. See you guys there!

04-07-2013 22:51

cbale2000

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Reminds me a little of our robot from 2007. While I can't speak to the efficiency of using gears, I do know that it was by far the most powerful drive system we ever built, and to this day have yet to build a robot with chain drive that can match it.

On a different note, are those VexPro gears you're using there?

04-07-2013 23:16

Clem1640

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Now, that's a lot of gears. Shiny. But it also looks heavy. Why gears for your power transmission in lieu of a lighter approach?

04-07-2013 23:29

IndySam

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence The new set of gears are looking pretty good! Quick question - why did you choose to have a gear-driven drive instead of the conventional chains/belts? Do you feel like the added complexity/weight/inefficiency (if any) hindered your driving?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi Looks shiny. I'm excited to discuss any pros and cons you experienced with this setup while at IRI in a few days. See you guys there!

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbale2000 On a different note, are those VexPro gears you're using there?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clem1640 Now, that's a lot of gears. Shiny. But it also looks heavy. Why gears for your power transmission in lieu of a lighter approach?

05-07-2013 00:19

Camren

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Now might I ask; is the amount of friction that the idler gears add noticeable?

05-07-2013 00:19

IndySam

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Oh and a big thanks to Mike Trapp at Waterjet Cutting of Indianapolis for providing the material and cutting of all the parts that made this possible (including two different iterations and a practice robot) and inspiration from 3940 CyberTooth and AndyMark from their rookie year robot.

05-07-2013 00:22

IndySam

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camren Now might I ask; is the amount of friction that the idler gears add noticeable?

05-07-2013 01:31

dtengineering

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Nice setup! We built an 8 wheel drive using chains in 2010... and seeing this has me thinking that we should have used gears. In fact a 10 wheel drive would be "almost trivial" to implement using a design like this.

Hmmm.....


Jason

05-07-2013 01:51

AdamHeard

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Assuming those are 44, 50 and 60T gears. That's only 1.36 lbs per side in gears. This could easily be cut in half w/ basic dishing of the gears on a lathe (or not ideally, a mill).

There is some what tied up in all the shafts/bearings for the intermediate gears. Assuming 2 FR8's per axle, and aluminum shafts at 2 inches long, this is .86 lbs per side.

This isn't a crazy amount of weight to cleanly solve the problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndySam The drive is the most quiet and smooth drive we have ever used and I challenge anyone to find a quicker or faster robot this year.

05-07-2013 02:03

runneals

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

What are the specs on this baby? FPS? Looks like something Aren_Hill might enjoy! Can't wait to talk to you more & see it in action at IRI!

05-07-2013 02:10

DampRobot

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

This might just be me being blind, but is the way those idler gears rotate just a frictional bearing between an aluminium round shaft and the hex on the gear?

Just curious, I'm happy to take your experience at face value, but did you happen to run any tests of this drive train compared to a similarly geared belt or chain one, in terms of efficiency or speed? I'm a big believer in chain/belt drives, but I can certainly see the advantages to this type of drive, especially if the efficiency is as high as other drive types.

Any plans for integrating some sort of reduction into those idler gears? You could probably make those side rails with a slick little integrated drive gearbox. It would be almost like 610's setup, but with gears instead of chain.

05-07-2013 04:09

Foster

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Ahhhh Steampunk drivetrain. Love the gears and the different sizes.

I was pleased to hear that it's a custom frame supporting them, so there is the quiet whirr of fully meshed gears vs mismatched gears or chains rolling around. So you've built the Rolls Royce of 6 wheel drive.

Can you say a few words about lubrication at the shafts and at the gear faces?

05-07-2013 07:58

IndySam

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamHeard Bold statement. I would wager 254 was quicker for sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by runneals What are the specs on this baby? FPS? Looks like something Aren_Hill might enjoy! Can't wait to talk to you more & see it in action at IRI!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DampRobot This might just be me being blind, but is the way those idler gears rotate just a frictional bearing between an aluminium round shaft and the hex on the gear? Just curious, I'm happy to take your experience at face value, but did you happen to run any tests of this drive train compared to a similarly geared belt or chain one, in terms of efficiency or speed? I'm a big believer in chain/belt drives, but I can certainly see the advantages to this type of drive, especially if the efficiency is as high as other drive types. Any plans for integrating some sort of reduction into those idler gears? You could probably make those side rails with a slick little integrated drive gearbox. It would be almost like 610's setup, but with gears instead of chain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foster Ahhhh Steampunk drivetrain. Love the gears and the different sizes. I was pleased to hear that it's a custom frame supporting them, so there is the quiet whirr of fully meshed gears vs mismatched gears or chains rolling around. So you've built the Rolls Royce of 6 wheel drive. Can you say a few words about lubrication at the shafts and at the gear faces?

05-07-2013 09:16

MrRiedemanJACC

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Is there a shifter in there also? Or are you a single speed drivetrain?

05-07-2013 10:02

Aren Siekmeier

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrRiedemanJACC Is there a shifter in there also? Or are you a single speed drivetrain?

05-07-2013 10:56

Akash Rastogi

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrRiedemanJACC Is there a shifter in there also? Or are you a single speed drivetrain?

05-07-2013 11:00

Ryan Dognaux

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

This picture you posted earlier was still one of my favorites from 2013. The drive looks great, any chance we could see some CAD for it at some point? I will definitely be checking out this one at IRI.

I noticed from the first rev and the video that Akash linked to that you had problems mounting the single speed gearboxes. Any more information on what the problem was?

05-07-2013 12:03

DampRobot

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndySam 17.3 free speed. It was as fast as we dared go on a 90lb robot without fearing constantly tripping breakers. All shafts are on bearings and no comparison testing was done. There is reduction built into the gear arrangement and it's driven by a custom single reduction gearbox. The reason we ran 4" wheels for the first time was to reduce the reduction needed.

05-07-2013 18:50

jman4747

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

This is an awesome drive train I love the breaking of convention and getting away from the same way of doing things. So Ahhhh indeed this is a marvelous breath of fresh air.

07-07-2013 23:06

topgun

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

How did you attach the wheels to the drivetrain? A picture would help.

07-07-2013 23:38

EricH

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by topgun How did you attach the wheels to the drivetrain? A picture would help.

08-07-2013 06:55

IndySam

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricH Offhand, I'd go with the wheels sliding onto the hex shafts (from left, the 1st, 5th, and 9th gears) and being held on by a washer attached to the end of the shaft by a screw into the end (note the tapped holes in the hex shafts).

08-07-2013 11:52

neshera

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Hmmm: Indiana Team - Lucas Oil Product Placement in photo....

Could Lucas Oil become an IRI sponsor? Could we use their stadium for IRI? or Champs?

08-07-2013 14:32

Peyton Yeung

Re: pic: Ahhhh, that's better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neshera Hmmm: Indiana Team - Lucas Oil Product Placement in photo.... Could Lucas Oil become an IRI sponsor? Could we use their stadium for IRI? or Champs?