Oh yeah, didn’t see that. In IQ, you basically should always use a metal shaft when you are transferring power.
I would also recommend changing the powering style. The best way possible in IQ is to do something a bit like this:
(this is a close-up of my robot from the Squared Away season)
So this has a sprocket on both of the wheels, and a larger powered sprocket in between the wheels with chain connecting all three. This is the optimal way to power a tank drive setup in my opinion.
continuing what i was discussing earlier with the second option, what you did is essentially the same initial mistake i made last year; the poor 12t gear on my old drivetrain just wasn’t able to handle the power of both motors on its own, and i had to add a second 12t gear later on once it started skipping. worked flawlessly afterwards because the 12t gear no longer had to deal with the massive forces exerted on it when accelerating and decelerating by itself. however, nothing in robotics is one size-fits all so it may not work for you. either way, i thought i’d share so you have a better idea of what your options are
Thanks heaps for your replies and explanations. I showed them to the team and they thank you. The Team has changed the plastic shafts to metal shafts and are still experiencing the same issue.
So a redesign and rebuild before tomorrows scrimmage is on the cards. Ha
Thanks! I appreciate your replies.This was the set-up they had before changing to this new drivetrain design. They changed due the robot being slow.
I now suspect it may be something to do with their coding - I just discovered they are using the preset drivetrain code in VEXcode IQ, and the weight/distribution of power.
Your gear ratio is pretty steep, it’s a very crowded field, what are you going to do with all that speed? I’d go for a slightly smaller ratio. I’d also try to move the brain down lower to help your center of gravity.
The robot being slow isn’t a problem with this drivetrain setup, it’s a problem with your gearing. If you want it to go faster with less torque, make the sprocket connected to the motor bigger, and vice-versa. The way your drivetrain is set up right now has a lot of power being run through that 12t gear as @Ethan5956F said. I would highly recommend switching back to the other drivetrain design.
I’ve never worked with iq before, but to me a 1:5 speed ratio on 2 iq motors seems way to weak to move at all. I know iq robots weight very little compared to vrc, but vrc has much stronger motors. A 2 motor 500 rpm drive would never be possible even with the power of v5 motors, so I doubt its possible with iq motors.
