A View of the Center Wheel Sprocket Setup

Goals

We decided that we wanted our drive system to:

• Be Fast. We felt that speed would be important to this year's game, especially in scoring ringers.
• Be Strong.
• Have good traction so we wouldn't be pushed around easily.

The Design

The design we are using for our drive system this year is similar to the design we've used the past few years. It uses a sandwich construction and six wheel drive. One problem with six wheel drive is that turning is often a problem because there is so much traction with the floor. To combat this, team 237 drops the center wheel by a quarter inch. This design feature allows the robot to turn. It also helps to keep the robot from tipping over. As the center of gravity shifts when we raise the arm, the weight will shift to the front four wheels rather than giving the robot a tendancy to be out of balance. The motors we used this year are the 2" CIM motors with the BaneBots kit transmissions. Without any modifications, these motors provided us with the speed that we wanted to see this year.

Features

• Quarter Inch Side Plates (Four)
• 2 CIM motors w/ BaneBots Transmissions
• Structural Support from 1" Square 80/20. The rear supports were designed to firmly hold the Arm Uprights by squeezing them by a hundredth of an inch.
• Six AndyMark wheels
• Transfer of power to all wheels using #25 chain and a 1:1 gear ratio
• Small 80/20 Supports to hold up the Control Board