DEWBOT XIII Drive Train
From DEW Robotics
Revision as of 13:34, 23 April 2017 by MaiKangWei (talk | contribs)
One drawback of swerve drive vis-à-vis tank drive is the relative penalty paid for incorporating gear shifting. Tank drive, with two independent powerplants, requires two gear shifting mechanisms; Swerve, with four independent powerplants, requires four. This is a serious design hurdle for a drive train which is already a little avoirdupois.
FRC 1640's traditional 8.30:1 reduction from CIM to 4" wheel has provided power, control and agility, but not speed. Frankly, we've been a slow robot; growing relatively slower as teams adopt more aggressive tank drive trains. Then along comes SteamWorks, with a critical need to run gears across the field quickly. Our old swerve drive is just not up to this!
