Gears, Sprockets, Chains & Belts

Gears

Gears are green plastic discs have grooves around them called "teeth" that fit in with other gears to move a piece of your robot. Gears are powered by motors, and a shaft connects them along with a few nuts and bolts to secure the gears. There are different ratios for gears with a difference in number of teeth that affects the speed and torque of the robot; If you use two gears with the same number of teeth, the gear ratio is 1:1, meaning the torque will be completely neutral, the exact same as the motor. If 1 of the gears had double the number of teeth, then the gear ratio would be 2:1, then the gear would spin at double the base motor speed, but only carry half the torque, on the reverse, if the gear ratio is 1:2, then it will spin at half the base speed of the motor but have double the torque.

Two 60-teeth gears that are interconnected; have a 1:1 gear ratio. The hollow square in the middle of the gear is for the shaft to connect to a motor.

Sprockets

Sprockets are similar to gears in the sense that they're also powered by a motor using a shaft to connect the two, but while gears connect their teeth to each other to rotate, the sprockets use chains or belts to rotate (see images below). The sprockets follow the same ratio concept as gears do.

Conveyor belts/tank treAds

Conveyor belts are an array of rectangled shaped plastic pieces that surround sprockets, much like chains. These are able to move objects on top of them, or if used for a vehicle like a tank, can help the grip and the mobility; the treads distribute the weight of the tank evenly so that it can easily move through mud, sand, or snow. If chosen, flaps could be added to the sides with the slits. They come in various sizes and can be slid in with a couple of the tread parts.

Location

The sprockets and gears (image on the left) can be found on the leftmost corner of the room from where you walk into the Robotics classroom. The chains and conveyor belts/tank treads (image on the right) can be found in the left shelf by the metal field on the right of the whiteboard.

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