Does anyone know if there are any disadvantages to putting motors on the back wheels of a 2 motor drivetrain instead of the front? My chassis bot currently has a 2 motor drivetrain with both motors on the front wheels but I wanted to move them to the back wheels to make room for my intake system. If anyone knows if it makes a difference please let me know.
If your wheels are geared/chained together, then it should make no difference, but if they are separate it may affect your center of rotation and your ability to cross the barrier.
However, I would highly recommend adding at least 2 more motors to your drivetrain to make it a 4 motor drive, because a 2 motor drive will overheat very quickly from driving around, has low acceleration, and can get pushed by other robots very easily. You also probably don’t need 6 motors for the rest of the mechanisms on the robot, so It’s worth it to move at least 2 to the drive.
There are a few differences this can make:
- Weight distribution (the motors at the front will make the robot front heavy and harder to go over obstacles, while at the back it is easier to tip over in a head-to-head push) (since your intake is in the front, then the weight of that will offset the weight of the motors)
- Power source (at the front the motors are “pulling” the robot forward, whereas in the back they are “pushing” the robot forward)
Other than that there is no significant difference. However, if you are competing (use 66w) or using a heavy bot (44w), I would recommend adding some more motors to your drivetrain. Good luck building!
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