I was hoping to improve the drivetrain on my robot. I just started working on the robots in August, so I am probably a little clueless. Also, I am not the same poster that posted other posts from this account.
The wheels are 4" and will be put on the outer gears. The right 60 gear (correct me if that’s not the right number lol) will be turned by a normal 393. The left 60 gear will be turned by a 269.
I feel that the optimization of my drivetrain is sub-par, as I am trying to have it geared for speed. What are some ways to improve it?
You’re saying the front wheel will go on the 36 tooth gear on the far left and the back wheel on the 60 tooth gear to the far right? From what you described as to where the wheels would go, they would be spinning at different speeds. If this is the case it would certainly present a problem.
As for general construction, I would suggest supporting axles from at least two sides and limiting the use of idler gears (gears that are not powered or have a wheel on them). However, I know this is difficult with the gear ratio and the wheel size you have chosen. One way to fix this is to add a third piece of metal in the system for the gears. Basically you would put the gearing between metal pieces 1 and 2 and the wheels between 2 and 3 if you understand what I mean.
Generally, I prefer to use high strength chain instead of gears for 4 inch wheels. Chain allows you to avoid the use of idlers and support all axles from at least two sides.
Like what the previous post said, having your front wheels spinning at a different ratio than your back wheels are not a good idea. If you’re aiming to be quick, I would suggest you mount all 4 motors (2 per side) in the back, then create a triangle sprocket + chaining system. As in, have the 2 motors spin the same axle, and on that axle, attach a sprocket. Then on each drive wheel, attach a sprocket (ensure those 2 sprockets are the same). This also gives you more space at the front (due to motors being in back) for your manipulation device.
If you don’t have sprocket/chains, the second best thing to do would be ensuring the 2 gears at the end are the same size.
Furthermore, I cannot tell from the picture, but ensure each axle runs through a sleeve, and like what jumper mentioned, use a second piece of metal to sandwich the gears/wheels in, and also have sleeves on that 2nd piece of metal.
My team had planned on have another piece of metal but it’s not in this picture because we haven’t finished the drivetrain. The issue with supporting the gear on the other piece of metal is that the wheels won’t fit. Will sandwiching the gears with a piece of metal fix this issue? (One collar and then cut the rest of it off)
Also we are redesigning the rest of the drivetrain (gears, etc). So I will post a newer picture when we finish.
