Robot Chassis and

Drivetrain
Fundamentals
Andy Baker, Team 45
John Neun, Team 20
2006

I am not John
V-Neun (sorry!)
John Neun
Senior Development
Engineer
Albany
International
Mentor on team 20,
the Rocketeers

Andy Baker
TechnoKats team leader (#45)
Sr. Mechanical Engineer: Delphi
Corporation
Co-Owner: AndyMark, Inc. (
www.andymark.biz)
2003 Championship Woodie Flowers
Award Winner

What is most important?

1.
2.
3.

Drive Base
Drive Base
Drive Base*

* - stolen from Mr. Bill Beatty (team 71)

Objectives
Review Base Design
Chassis

Structure
Geometry
Material
Examples

Drivetrain

Wheels
Motors
Transmissions
Examples

fear

Chassis Design

Review principles of chassis design

Examine trade-offs
Material
Weight

Chassis Function
Provide platform for everything

Strong
Stable
Well laid out and accessible
Light

Resist, defend against shock

Weight

Develop a weight budget and stick to it!

Start coarse: chassis = 60 lbs, tower = 60 lbs
Tip: parts far from the floor should be the lightest
Refine:
ie Chassis

Frame
Wheels
Gearbox
Controls

Trade-off

How many inch diameter holes in .100 Al are needed for 1

pound?

200!

CG
Keep it Low!!
spread
spread
sheet
sheet

Given the will, any

configuration can work

Geometry

Strength
Space
Accessibility

Example

Bumpers

Kit Chassis

(pictures available at
www.innovationfirst.org)

Advantages: lightweight, quick to build, uses standard parts

Disadvantages: may not fit your design, requires added structure (that will most likely be put on anyway)

T-slot style

Advantages: quick to build, standard parts, easy to create tension

and to add fastening points
Disadvantages: heavy, expensive

Welded Aluminum Tube &

Plate

Advantages: lightweight, strength, fits your design

Disadvantages: takes time, requires skill, non standard parts

Unique Drive Bases

Advantages: fits your design, unique

Disadvantages: takes much time, requires skill, non standard parts

Chassis Materials
Aluminum Extrusion
1/16 1/8: usable but will dent and bend
T-slot: use 1 sized profiles or higher

Aluminum plates and bars

3/16 used often

Plastic Sheet
Spans structures, provides bracing
Polycarbonate (LEXAN, etc.) NOT Acrylic (Plexiglas, etc.)

Wood
Lightweight and easy to use
Will splinter and fail but can be fixed

Steel Tube and Angle

Strong, but heavy, 1/16 wall thickness is plenty strong

luck

Drivetrain Design

Review basics
Examine trade-offs
Formulas for modeling and design
Sample Calculations

Drivetrain: #1
What must the robot do?

Speed
Force
Maneuverability

Game rules and team strategy: set specs

Drivetrain Foundation
Basics
Physics
Force = mass x acceleration (pounds)
Frictional force = constant x Normal force
Torque = force x distance (foot-pounds)
Power = force x velocity (HP, watts)
= amps x volts
Work = power x time (HP-hour)
Efficiency = (power out)/(power in)

Principles of DC Motors
Principles of Gear Trains
Reduction
Mechanical advantage

Wheels
Provide contact with ground

Drive
Traction
Steering
Support and stability

Wheel Friction
Theory: F = kN
Frictional force has no dependence on contact
area
HOMOGENEOUS, 2 dimensional surfaces

Drive direction vs. lateral friction

N

Steering wheels
Car steering: complex
Tank steering: simple
Wheels skate

Tank
Steering

Hi CG
Short wheelbase
Bouncy wheels
Solutions:
Smaller Dia. Wheels
Use wider Frame (see Chris
Hibners white paper on
www.chiefdelphi.com)
Use Omni-wheels (
www.andymark.biz)

6 Wheel Drive

Teams can purchase these

treaded wheels at
www.andymark.biz
www.innovationfirst.com

Crab or Swerve Steering

Tank Tread Drive

Fall Over Drive Bases

Motors
Fixed population of choices
Range of speed and torque
Specifications readily available

DC motors with speed controlled via PWM

Last years motors:
Use these numbers, but DONT
assume they are all true. For
instance, the Fisher-Price motor
could not be operated at 12
volts, and was later
recommended to run at 6 volts.

Max Motor Load

TL = Torque from load
IM = Maximum current draw (motor limit)
Ts = Stall torque
IF = Motor free current
IS = Motor stall current

(TS ) * ( I M I F )
TL
(IS IF )

Calculate the Max Motor

LoadTorque = Stall torque - {speed x (stall torque/free speed)}
Current Draw vs. Load Torque
1 Chiaphua Motor

Motor Current Draw (Amp)

120

stall

100
80
60
40
20
0
0

0.5

1.5

Load Torque (N*m)

2.5

Free
speed

Gearbox Design Process

First, choose Motion Objective: Robot Speed 13 fps, full speed within 10 feet
Pick motor
(load vs amps)
Pick wheel config.
no. of wheels
material
diameter

Calculate required gear

ratio from motor and
output torques

Motor running
characteristics
Max torque per
current limit

Calculate speed
& acceleration
Running characteristics
Current limits

Determine maximum
drive train load from
wall push

Iterate

Transmission Goal:
Translate Motor Motion and
Power into Robot
Motor
Motivation
Speed (rpm)
Torque

Robot
Speed (fps)
Weight

First Step:

Pushing against a wall

Objective: Determine maximum load limit
(breakaway load for wheels)
System must withstand max load

Run continuously under maximum load

Not overload motors
Not overload circuit breakers
(Not break shafts, gears, etc.)

Suboptimum ignore limit (risk failure)

Pushing against a wall

Known Factors:
Motor Usage
Motor Characteristics

Wheel Friction
Max Motor Load (at 40 amps)

Solve For:
Required Gear Ratio
Robot Weight
Motor specs
Frictional coef.

Gear Ratio

Speed
acceleration

Calculate the Gearbox

Load
Required
Gearbox
Find
Friction between wheel
Ratio
and carpet acts as a
brake, and provides
gearbox load.
Find torque load per
gearbox.
Frictional
Now Solve for Required force
Gear Ratio
Gearbox Load
Gear Ratio
Motor Max Load

Weight
no. of wheels

Check Robot Speed

How fast will the robot go with this
required gear ratio?
Output RPM Motor RPM * Gear Ratio * Speed Loss

Robot Velocity Output RPM

* Wheel Circumferance * Unit Conversion

Remember Units!!!

Be Careful!

Is this fast enough?

Major Design Compromise

Is this speed fast enough?
No?

Decrease Gearbox Load

Increase Gearbox Power
Live with the low speed
Design two speeds!
Low speed/high force
High speed/low force

Risk failure

Design is all about tradeoffs

Secondary Analysis
Plotting Acceleration

Calculate Motor Current Draw and Robot

Velocity over time (during robot acceleration).
Time to top speed
Important to show how drivetrain will perform (or
NOT perform!)
If a robot takes 50 feet to accelerate to top speed, it
probably isnt practical!
Performance on flat floor is VASTLY different on a
ramp (2003 example)

Plotting Acceleration
Voltage to resting motor
Start at stall condition (speed = 0)
Stall torque initial acceleration

Robot accelerates
Motor leaves stall condition
Force decreases as speed increases.

Instantaneous Motor
Torque
Stall Torque
Motor Torque - (
) * Motor RPM Stall Torque
Free Speed

When Motor RPM = 0,

Output Torque = Stall Torque
When Motor RPM = free speed
Output Torque = 0 (in theory)
(.81)

Gearbox (reduction) basics

Chain, belt
Gear Ratio = N2/N1

N2

N1

Spur gears
Gear Ratio = N2/N1
N1

N2

Gearbox Torque Output

Robot Accelerating Force
Gearbox Torque Motor Torque * Gear Ratio * Efficiency

Gearbox Torque
Acceleration Force 2 * (
)
Wheel Radius

Instantaneous
Acceleration and Velocity
Acceleration Force - Friction Resistance
Acceleration
Robot Mass

Instantaneous Acceleration (dependant on

robot velocity, as seen in previous equations).
The instantaneous velocity can be numerically
calculated as follows:

V2 V1 1 * (t)
(thanks, Isaac)

Velocity vs. Time

The numerical results can be plotted, as
shown below (speed vs. time):
Robot Velocity vs. Time

Robot Velocity (ft/s)

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5
Tim e (s)

3.5

4.5

Current Draw Modeling

The current drawn by a motor can be
modeled vs. time too.
Current is linearly proportional to torque
output (torque load) of the motor.
Stall Current - Free Current
Current Draw
* Torque Load Free Current
Stall Torque

Current Draw vs. Time

The numerical results can be plotted, as
shown below:
Gearbox Current Draw vs. Time
250

Current Draw (Amp)

200

150

100

50

0
0

3
Time (s)

Its just a
little volts
& amps

What does this provide?

Based on these plots, one can see how
the drivetrain will perform.
Does current draw drop below danger
levels in a short time?
How long does it take robot to accelerate
to top speed?

Are things okay? NO?!?

How can performance be increased?
Increase Drivetrain Power
Use Stronger Motors
Use Multiple Motors

Increase Gear Ratio (Reduce top speed)

Is this acceptable?

Adding Power Multiple

Motors
Combining Motors Together Not Voodoo!
2 Motors combine to become 1 super-motor
Match motors at free speed
Matching does not have to be exact

Sum all characteristics

Motor Load is distributed proportional to a ratio of free
speed.

2 of the same motor is easy!

4 Chiaphua Motors

Multiple Speed
Drivetrains
Allows for multi-speed setup using max
motor power:

1 pushing speed & 1 cruising speed

1 cruising speed & 1 very fast speed

Shift-on-the-fly allows for accelerating

through multiple gears to achieve high
speeds.
Shifting optimizes motor power for
application at hand.
www.andymark.biz sells 2-speed
transmissions for FIRST applications.

Take necessary
precautions

The big picture

These calculations are used to design a
competition drivetrain.
Rather than do them by hand, most
designers use some kind of tool.

Excel Spreadsheet
Matlab Script
Etc

And then
This is a starting point
Iterate to optimize results
Test

Use your imagination

Infinite speeds
Multiple motors
Many gears
This isnt the end all method.

Gearbox Design Process

Set Motion Objective: Robot Speed 13 fps, full speed within 10 feet
Pick motor
(load vs amps)
Pick wheel config.
no. of wheels
material
diameter

Calculate required gear

ratio from motor and
output torques

Motor running
characteristics
Max torque per
current limit

Calculate speed
& acceleration
Running characteristics
Current limits

Determine maximum
drive train load from
wall push

Iterate

Automation
Spreadsheet to do drivetrain design at
www.team229.org

Calculation Example
Peak
Power
(W)

Free
Speed
(RPM)

Stall Torque
(N*m)

Stall Current
(Amp)

Free
Current
(Amp)

321

5500

2.22

107

2.3

407

24000

.647

148

1.5

FP w/Gearbox

407

193

80

148

1.5

124:1

Globe Motor
(With Gearbox)

50

100

19

21

.82

117:1

Van Door Motor

69

75

35

40

1.1

22

92

9.2

24.8

18.5

85

8.33

21

Motor Name
Atwood Chiaphua
Motor
Fisher Price Johnson (2005)
(No Gearbox)

Nippon Window
Motor (2002)
Jideco Window
Motor (2005)

Gearbox
Ratio

Remember:
Its no big deal!

Thanks!
Robot System Drive
Fundamentals
Ken Patton

Paul Copioli

Questions?