pic: Mini Octocanum Drive Module



Here is a render of our 2012 drive module. We call it a mini-octocanum because the 2nd set of wheels are 2 inch diameter Colsons. Since we are a wide robot, we didn’t have a lot of room for the second set of wheels so we tucked the 2 inch wheels under mecanums as close as we could get them.

Wow! does this go over the bump? does it have tipping problems with the wheels being ultra close together? I am scared for 10,000 lakes now :stuck_out_tongue:
We haven’t finished the shooter yet, but It should be all working by tomorrow! Hopefully we will have a chance against you guys!

I also hope we pick you (I guy can dream right :wink: )

beautiful - awesome design!

No, we don’t go over the bump - bridge only. We wanted a very low center of gravity to help balancing on the bridge. It goes across the bridge easily on the small Colson wheels.

Having just seen this drive move, I really like what it can do. The mecanum half is very fast and smooth, and I really like the slightly faster gearing as compared to your 2010 and 2011 drives. It switches to traction mode quickly and smoothly and looks terrific going up a ramp.

The question I had was “How are you getting the Colson wheels to move in an arc using cylinders that are pushing in a straight line?” The answer made sense but was simpler than I expected.

The cylinders are perpendicular to the centerline between the two mecanum wheels. The bracket which moves the Colson wheels swings on an arc which is centered above and below the mecanum centerline. The cylinder is positioned at the midpoint of this arc to minimize the error and then the bracket holes are oversized slightly to accomodate the error.

A report from our local paper at our open house yesterday. They were kind - they only showed shots we made. A local TV station did a report and only showed shots we missed.

http://wcfcourier.com/video-cf-robotics-team-prepares-for-competition/vmix_be9b3804-5b58-11e1-bbc4-0019bb2963f4.html