Question: I have my robot and my two drive wheels and respective motors are connected by chains and sprockets. I think the ratio is medium sprocket to the smallest one. My problem is that they keep snapping. I have now officially run out of links. What should I do? I’m going to have to buy more chain. It’s also sat around for about 2 months or more… did it become brittle in that time?
-Jeremiah
It is likely that the load on the drivetrain is too much for the chain. I doubt that any environmental/time factors could have caused the chain to fatigue. I recommend modifying your sprocket-ratio to decrease the load on the chain, or doubling up the chains so each takes 1/2 the overall load.
I am sorry you have broken so many links. You can purchase additional lengths of spare chain here:
http://www.vexlabs.com/vex-robotics-motion-parts.shtml