Drive Systems
Original Posted by Totally Recycled
http://www.robowars.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3090#3090∞
Well heres a few pro's and cons to help you decide
Chains
Pros:
They are strong
They transmit power reasionably effecivily but still have some small friction losses.
Power is transmitted with out slippage losses
They can be used effectivly for timeing various components in a machine
Cons:
They are heavy combined with sprockets
They need to be well alighned or they will catch and come off the sprockets .
They will stretch especialy if they are loaded and unloaded extremely hard like hiting something with a bar ect and the pins can break with snap loading .
They dont like to be run on their sides ie horizintal as the weight puts them on the edges of the sprockets and iff they go slack can easily catch and run off .
They are noisy at high speeds
Belts .single V type
Pros:
Can transmit power smoothly .
They will stretch or slip before they break
They are much lighter than chains
They can be run out of allighnment and still transmit reasonable power with out comeing off pullies.
They can be used to change direction of power tranfer around corners ect .
They can be twisted to run from a horizontal shaft to power a vertical shaft and vise verser .
They can be tensioned and un tensioned and used as a clutch system .
Cons:
They will slip under exteme loads
They are easiler cut that chain .
Most dont like being bent backwards . ie around a pulley then under an ideler ( unles they are specialy made belts with nylon or kevlar rope in them instead of the cheaper laminated webing types)
They can slip at very high speeds due to centrifical forces makeing them leave the pullys .
Multiple v belts
Pro's:
These have more friction surface than single v belts so wont slip as much .
Most will go backwards around tensioners and pulies ect with no ill efects .
They are lighter in cross section so dont distort as much at high speed like single v belts and arent as afected by centrifical forces.
Cons:
They need to be well alighned as like chains they can run off the pullys if too far out .
They will slip under sever loading
They are more expensive than single v belts .
Pullies are harder to find and also more expensive.
Timeing -- toothed type belts
Pro's:
These are much beter for transmitting high torque and uneven loads with out slippage.
Can be used for timeing moveing parts.
Most types can run backwards over tensioners ect with no ill effects .
Cons:
These belts need to be well alighned or they will run off the pulllies .
They are more expensive and harder to find in various sizesand pullie's are more expensive .