they wouldnt break or bent so easyly but it wuld need oil andthey would be hard to install.
Have you ever seen a master link on a bicycle chain? You can move links.
A real tank has metal treads. Those work, and they still sink less than wheels.
Still, though, they are completely unnecessary. I’ve built 30-40 pound chassis’s with the Vex tank treads and drill motors driving them. I had no problems with breaking. And if you wanted metal chains really, really badly, you could buy some sprockets, bore them to the diameter you need, and use some bike chain. It wouldn’t be practical for VEx to make it. Without a need for metal chain in the competition, which is where I imagine Vex makes most of it’s revenue, I think including metal chain as part of the Vex lineup would prove costly for Vex.
Actually VEX said that 2/3 of their customers were purely educational, and not in the competition. (Unless I am mistaken, I could swear VEX posted that on the forum somewhere.)
Anyway I too really think there is no need for this. The plastic chain and tank tread works fine. (At least the High Strength chain.)
~Jordan
The majority of VEX Robotics’ customers use the VEX Robotics Design System in the classroom, but the competition users continues to grow at a record pace. Actually, we have seen competition teams move into the classroom and classroom users move to the competition so the line is becoming very blurry.
Regarding metal tread, please understand the VEX Robotics Design System is meant to be safe in the classroom, but durable enough to handle the rigors of competition. It is a very fine line to balance, but I do not see metal chain making the product lineup any time soon.
That would be to much like first robotics, so if you looking for a metal chain, I don’t think vex would be the right area