hey! build caption here! having a hard time deciding what wheels to choose for the drivetrain. Our team would like to have fast cycle times through the middle of the field so we can stay out of the way for other robots in the trench. We would like to stick to the KOP since we have one and we do not have the resources to build a west coast drive this year. The issue I am having is whether or not to invest the time to a 6WD pneumatic, or an 8WD conversion to the KOP drive train. Have ya’ll done any testing with the 6 WD default design and how it handles the bumps on the field? I am also worried that pneumatic wheels would bounce too much and we would lose control of the robot at high speeds. Thanks!
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I don’t see an advantage to 8WD this year over the straight kit configuration; it’s great for large obstacles, but isn’t likely to help with the bumps around the rendezvous zone any more than 6wd.
The biggest problem with pneumatics on the KoP isn’t the bouncing around, but that the center drop isn’t really enough. If you do go the pneumatic route, be sure to inflate the middle wheels to a higher pressure than the corner wheels to mitigate the small center drop.
Another viable solution is to go to 8" wheels, which will require different belts, but they will hit the 1" bumps at a flatter angle and create less stress than 6" wheels.
Go get your six wheel drive Andy Mark chassis going and try to see how it goes over the bar in the field. We did it with last year’s robot which was a am14u4 and it would do it, but it was kind of rough. One of our teams is going with the kit chassis 8 wheel upgrade. The other team might be using pneumatic wheels I will post videos to our YouTube when we get them operational.
Agreed. If you have access to a table saw or even circular handheld with a ripping blade and fence, it’s pretty easy to cut a 2x4 down to the dimensions of the bar.
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