Hello so my team is currently considering using Mecanum wheels due to their mobility on this current game. However I think we’re gonna have more disadvantages using them than not using them. So what is your opinion for mecanum wheels on this game?
No. A thousand time no.
Most of our wins are on Mecanum wheels so I like using them when they are right for the game. I agree with Ed - they are not a good fit for this game.
IMHO, not enough traction to cross many of the defenses
The disadvantage is that you have to cross polycarbonate surfaces in the barriers, you’re gonna be sliding like you’re ice skating.
However if your team is not planning on crossing barriers they lose their disadvantages
I’m quite fond of mecanum wheels in general, but not for drivetrain in this game. They’re not going to cope well with the majority of the defenses, and they’re not going to have good traction on the batten.
Even if traction was great, bent or broken rollers and/or support tabs will make you cry.
This is probably the worst game in the last 4 years to use mecanum wheels. You could still contribute in 2013 and 2014, as long as you had a decent driver and a decent shooter. In 2015, mecanums were actually very helpful at times. This year, they put an inherent limit on your scoring ability because they don’t have the traction to get over the group B and D barriers. That’s bad.
On the majority of the obstacles, mecanum wheels would pretty severely limit your ability to cross. I don’t see them being effective in this game.
Mackenzie Glaser
Robo Lions 1261
Please stop with the “mecanum wheels have no traction” stuff. They have plenty of forward traction.
I do not believe they are a good choice for this years game for many reasons.
Will I put my AM HD 6" wheels on a test robot and try and tackle defenses for the fun of it, heck yes!
2052 found that in 2012 mecanum wheels actually helped on the ramps- they self corrected to get us on the ramps more squarely. The idea that they simply make your robot slide around like you just hit a banana in Mario Kart is simply a myth.
That being said, we have not yet discussed drive trains this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if we went a different direction this year based on our requirements for our robot.
I think the biggest problems are the robustness of anything but andymark HDs, and the fact that a lot of the defenses are going to be more manageable with more wheels. 6 or 8 wheel mecanum would be weird. On 6 i guess you could use omnis for the middle, and 8 would be omnis or another pair of mecanum. On any of those, things will get funky when you start losing points of contact, though.
We love mecanums too, but this year some of the defenses would be hard to cross with only 4 wheels. I admit we have not tried them on polycarbonate, so the perceived lack of traction may indeed be a myth.