What is a good robot weight

[technik3k]

In addition to looking at the robot weight and drivetrain gear ratio, you need to consider how your weight is distributed and if front and back wheels are connected with chain or geartrain to distribute motor load more evenly.

For example, if they are not connected and most of the robot’s weight is concentrated over the back wheels, then back motors will overheat and shutdown first, then causing front motors to overload and overheat next.

Here are links to some additional discussion about best weight to speed and power ratio for the VRC robots:

Can we replace a heavy steel chassis with a lighter aluminum spaceframe (or better, a monocoque), and how?

Obviously, everybody wants their robot to quickly accelerate and move around the field. But if you make the robot too light and gear your motors too high, you will be left with very little ability to push back against other robots. If playing defense and counter-defense is a part of your strategy, then another important consideration is how much pushing power you can get out of your robot’s weight. This conversion is determined by the friction coefficient of the wheels that you are using. For…

Free spinning middle traction wheel?

One additional thing to consider when building a drivetrain is a conversion of weight of the robot into pushing force through the friction. If all wheels are powered, then the full weight of the robot gets converted into pulling or pushing force through the friction coefficient specific to the wheel type and surface that it is driving on. However, if free spinning wheels support portion of the weight, then it reduces the maximum force that is available to accelerate, push, or resist pushing o…

Omni wheel vs Mecanum

Every season, when robots need to maintain stable position to score and defensive play requires a lot of pushing, the question frequently comes up which drivebase is the best. The short answer is that there is no single wheel type that is better than everything else. Each type has its own strong and weak points and you have to find one that suits your driving preferences and gameplay strategy the best. So what are the strong and weak points of each drive type. First of all you have to consider…

My impression over the years was that the best performing robots were around ~16 lbs of weight running on 4" wheels at ~250 rpm with 4 motors or either slightly faster robots running at >300 rpm with 6 drivetrain motors.