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PLease help with a tank thread problem — Parallax Forums

PLease help with a tank thread problem

DimitrrisDimitrris Posts: 7
edited 2009-09-23 06:38 in Robotics
Hallo guys. I would like to discuss with you about a situation . I have just installed the tank thread on my Boe-Bot and i experience a problem , when my Boe- Bot tries to go left or right or sometimes forward or backward the tank wheel gets off its position and· as a result it cant turn left or right . Also , when i applied the tank thread to the Boe-Bot it lost speed. Any help will be great !wink.gif

Comments

  • dw101sdw101s Posts: 27
    edited 2009-09-17 21:51
    I havent used the tank treads from Parallax but I have used tank tracks from Lego and Tamiya. For the slipping problem you may want to adjust to treads so they are tighter or looser on the drive wheel. I found that the tension on the treads made a difference in how well the treads stayed on the drive wheel.

    As for the speed issue, you are right. You do loose a lot of speed when you use tank tracks instead of a plain wheel. This basically due to the fact that one full rotation of a wheel goes a lot farther than one rotation of the drive wheel on a tank track (unless your tank track is a smaller size than the wheel it replaced, in that case you would go faster), its a "gear ratio" effect. So, if you need speed or have an even surface then using a wheel is the way to go but if you need your robot to go on a slippery or uneven surface or a situation where you need traction then tank tracks are way to go, but as you know you do pay a price in speed.
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2009-09-18 03:48
    The treads slipping off is usually due to incorrect wheel/gears installed, too tight of a screw on said wheel/gear or the metal bracket being bent. Also if you stretch the treads they can be too long for the intended design. They can be stretched by pulling them off the bracket instead of cutting them off.

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    Chris Savage

    Parallax Engineering
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  • SamMishalSamMishal Posts: 468
    edited 2009-09-23 06:38
    Hi Dim,

    I had the same problem and no matter what could not stop it.
    The problem occurs on carpets. It does not happen on a hard surface.
    I talked to Parallax and they could not solve the problem.

    I think the design is not the best. There should be a second TOOTHED
    wheel and that should be adjustable so that it would allow for easy
    installation of the tread and then to be able to move it so as to tighten
    the tension on the tread and then fix it in place.

    This can be achieved with a slotted hole for the wheel.

    Also being toothed would help in holding the track in place better.

    As it is the design is lacking in that to install the tread you have to
    slowly thread it on the wheels and you may run the risk of stretching the
    tread while doing so. Also there is no way to adjust the tension and there is
    only one toothed wheel which is the drive wheel. So if the track starts
    coming off there is nothing to keep it held in place.

    I found that the problem occurs mostly on carpets (even low pile), but
    on a hard surface it is OK.

    One thing I did to overcome the problem is to thread the track over one of the inner
    wheels. This makes the track have less grip but it works on a carpet fine.

    This is a make-shift solution which makes the tank look funny....but it allows
    you to run it on a carpet.

    I think Parallax should revise their design of the kit....as is it is not the BEST
    as they always do with everything else.    ·

    Regards

    Samuel
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