I am wondering if anyone has any experince with putting a lower wheel in the center of tank treads? (similar to a 6wd design) and what would be the adviseable drop distance, so that the robot can turn but doesn’t buck up and down uncontrolably?
I have worked on a bot from 2010 that used a drop center tread design…
it had 1/8" drop on the center roller. it bucked a little bit but did ok… for a tall bot, i would go with 3/32" or even 1/16" to be safe… the bot i worked on was a pretty short bot (fit through the tunnel)
To say our team does lots of treads is an understatement. 2011, 2010, 2006, 2006, 2005, 2004. We’ve gotten the design down to an art. If you want to take a look at one of our CAD’s, it is availible at FRC-Designs. Team 639. If you have any other questions about treads, I would be happy to answer!