Overall, the chassis and drivetrain of The Black Baron were intended to be the most important parts of the robot, with the mechanisms being kept as simple and non-electrical as possible. This was done in an effort to minimize error with the mechanisms and have the coolest robot out there. This resulted in almost 75% of the spent budget being allocated to this. All of the key components of the robot and their costs can be found in the pie chart below.
This Excel pie chart and table highlights some of the key components that went into this integral part of our robot. The chassis was made out of acrylic, and it consisted of 5 parts: one main region and four side regions to mount the motors and place the axle through. An image of the disassembled chassis is provided below for a better understanding of this. Notice the holes on the larger piece. This was used for most of the robot’s electrical routing. Additionally, there are 8 smaller holes which were used to secure the chassis to the PVC base, which served as the mounting base for the QR Code mount and all of the mechanisms.
Disassembled Chassis
As discussed earlier, the drivetrain involved four omnidirectional wheels driven by four individual wheels. The wheels worked in a way such that providing different motor powers to each wheel allowed the robot to drive at any heading, turn on a point, or even drive while turning (We are serious! Look at our competition footage!). For our robot, the wheels were driven using VEX 393 motors, allowing for the perfect balance of speed and cost-effectiveness. For clarity purposes, an image of the wheel, wheel’s connection to the chassis, and drivetrain mounted to the chassis are provided below.
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- Omnidirectional Wheel
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- Motor and Wheel Connection through Side Flap of Chassis
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- Full Chassis and Drivetrain
As noted before, a PVC sheet was mounted to the chassis to hold all of the mechanisms and the Proteus. Although a relatively simple design, it was essential to our robot’s success. It was spaced above the chassis to provide the mechanisms with adequate ability to complete all of the necessary tasks. Additionally, it was cheap enough to keep the team within budget. Just keep an eye out for a sheet painted black. That’s the PVC base.