Why should a slack chain be used between gears, and why should a tight chain be used? Is there a main difference that affects how the mechanisms work?

When you are using chain, you want the chain to be slightly longer than it could be, because if the chain is too tight, it will pull the sprockets together, which adds friction to the axles.

A tight chain will be slower, but will make it harder for the chain to skip on sprockets, while a looser chain would be faster, but would have a higher chance of coming off a sprocket, or skipping the sprocket.

I would go as tight as it can be. If it is really, really tight, use one more link and use a chain tensioner. [image] Chain Drive Triangle VEX IQ General Discussion Sounds like it could be a torque problem, but based on the fact that the ratio of the previous drive had les…

I agree with that. I prefer my things to go slower and I’ve ran into the risk of my chain coming off the sprocket.

This is in IQ: [image] In IQ, chain breaks are rare. Chain falling off is much more common. @Dan1 , I would try the tighest possible and one more link and test the results. That would be good for the notebook and you will have a better robot.

Slack or Tight?

VEX IQ General Discussion

BananaPi March 5, 2025, 3:54pm 4

I would go as tight as it can be. If it is really, really tight, use one more link and use a chain tensioner.

This topic has a good post about chain and wrap angle, which can cause slippage.