Hello, I would like to build a mecanum drive train powered by 4 393s directly. However, I am bumping into the issue of the lack of space. Hence I would like to know what is the best way to mount a mecanum drive.
I have tried a few ways
Directly powering 4 mecanum wheels with 4 motors. The issue was that the front 2 motors took up a lot of space in the middle of the robot, leaving little space for anything else.
Using sprocket and chain for the front 2 wheels. The problem with this was that the drive train ended up being rather thick anyway due to the sprocket taking up a lot of space. Spacers also have to be added to prevent the chain front rubbing the wheels.
Fold out front wheels. I have tried this but it didn’t turn out so well. It was rather unstable and I have no idea how to build this properly.
Something we’ve done before if we are running low on space and using the 5-height C-Channel is to put the motors in between the bars. We put another piece of C-Channel on the inside and attach it with standoffs to the bar and then use chain between a sprocket on the wheel axle and a sprocket on the motor axle. It shouldn’t be any wider than your current setup and you could easily move both motors onto the inside. The major issue is that maintenance is nearly impossible because the screws on the motor are inaccessible so you would need to take it off to tighten it.
Yes this is a competition robot. I am just trying to figure out the best way to mount mecanum wheels so that I can have more space for whatever mechanism I would need. Let’s just assume this is a robot for Sack Attack and I want a pneumatic scoop robot.
Could I have a more detailed explanation for this please? I have tried fold out wheels but I have no idea how to lock them in place. Also, it was rather unstable.
If you’re talking about the red quadrature encoders, there aren’t a whole lot of good ways of keeping them out of the way. When we used them we would always use a bevel gear on the drive axle and then have the encoder parallel to the axle with a bevel gear on it so that it isn’t taking up as much space width wise.