Drive Trains

This is a drivetrain. A ​drivetrain is a mechanical subsystem which allows movement around a space. Essentially, it is the frame of a robot, along with the wheels, motors, and any chains or transmissions that contribute to motion. When talking about drivetrains, there is ​drivetrain terminology that is often used and generally understood. There are many different types of drivetrains; the one most often used by this team is tank drive, meaning the left side wheels are controlled by one motor and the right side wheels are controlled by another. As seen in the image, the front four wheels are controlled by two motors, one left-side motor controlling the left wheels (which have a chain linking them), and the right side motor doing the same on the right. The back two wheels are not connected to a motor, so they are not driven, they just provide support.

For an extensive power point about drivetrains (feel free to ctrl+find a word or phrase if you are looking for specific information) click here.
For more info see these presentations: Omnidirectional Drive Systems & Mobility 

Team History of Drivetrains:

• 2025 - Swerve

• 2024 - Swerve

• 2023 - Swerve

• 2022 - Mecanum

• 2020 - Octocanum

• 2019 - West Coast

• 2018 - Tank Drive

• 2017 - Tank Drive

Suspensions

Most FRC games involve flat surfaces where traction, speed, and turning ability are critical for robots. For these games, 2537 prefers ​West Coast Drive drivetrains with 6 wheel robots where the center wheel on each side is slightly lower than the front and back wheels allowing the robot to turn quickly around the center without creating excessive friction due to dragging the front and back wheels.

However, west coast drives require fairly flat surfaces. For a robot to work on uneven terrain, a suspension is needed to ensure that the drive wheels remain in contact with the ground. There are many strategies for suspension that can allow robots to traverse a wide range of surfaces; a good overview is ​here. Strategies include:

• ​Spring suspensions such as the ​Pololu Thumper or ​Mini Mantis

• ​Rocker Bogie (e.g. Mars rovers) see also ​here

• Transversely Split e.g. ​Tyco Super Rebound or ​actobotics off-road or ​NASA Ratler

• ​Tri-star wheels and ​Triangular drives (e.g. ​Landmaster) - mainly for climbing