What are the Pros and cons of x-drive for In The Zone?

VEX V5 General Discussion Technical Discussion
#1

I was searching for drivetrains and x-drive appeared. Is it any different from holonomic drive?

#2

Yeah they are the same. I honestly don’t see any advantage for X-drives in ITZ, you will probably have problems getting over the pipe and if u carry/drag too much weight the motors will trip.

#3

Your motors in your drive are more likely to trip. If your going holonomic, I recommend going for an asterisk drive. It has wheels like this:

#4

Wouldn’t a shifting x-drive be better though since it only uses 5 motors?

#5

People seem to not realize that x drives are an additional 1.4 to 1 gear ratio for speed. This means you need to use lower speeds than you would for a tank drive, or you will have stalling problems.
Pros:
Lots of turning torque
Strafe fast
Cons:
Wont drive strait unless your center of mass is in the middle of your robot
^makes programming a nightmare
Has more friction than tank drive
Takes up a lot of room
Can’t chain wheels together to distribute load

#6

I feel like almost every year we say “Hey an X-Drive can work for this!”

Then we reach the point through the season where everyone’s like, the pros don’t outweigh the concerns, and tank is the most effective to do what I need.

#7

Having any kind of angles wheels might have issues. For example, if you try to go over the bump with your robot at 45 degrees relative to the bump (so that the wheel is parallel with the bump) and try to go over it, how much resistance would the wheel get? Depending on the weight of your robot, it could potentially break the wheel/ damage the motor or something else. Even if it doesn’t damage anything, I would expect that the robot would at least stop.

#8

Pros:
Turns Fast
Strafe

Cons:
Harder to build on because of the angle at the end (yes you can fix this but not without adding weight)
Harder to program autos for less experienced teams
Cant drive with Tank control layout
Ratios arent the same as on a Tank Drive
Cant get over bumps well

Conclusion:
Use a tank drive this year, please I’m begging you.

#9

By tank drive, do you mean “tank treads” or like a tank drive layout?

#10

Tank drive layout

#11

ok… I thought everyone will have legit tanks on the playing field…

Now I have to change my drive…

#12