Drive Rail Selector
The best way to figure out what drive rail is best for your application we recommend asking yourself the following questions.
- Do your need to drive wheels that are on the same side individually? ( ie. Mechanum )
-If yes, you should be looking at our DR-2 line
- How many wheels do you want per side of your robot?
- How long do you want your robot to be? (direction of drive)
-We currently offer 24", 30", and 36" lengths
- With our Brackets it is easy to add one or two inches to any Drive Rail
- How much ground clearance do you need? ( Think about how high you want to mount your mechanisms to as well)
- The DR-2 ground clearances are 1/2" with a 4" wheel and 1.5" with a 6" wheel
- The DR-3 and DR-4 maximum* ground clearances are .5" with 2.5" wheels, .75" with 3" wheels, 1" with 4" wheels, 1.5" with 6" wheels, 2.5" with 8" wheels.
*Maximum ground clearance is from the rail next to the center wheel to the ground. As there is a 1/8" drop on the center wheel there will be at least 1/8" less clearance on both ends.
- How fast do you want your robot to go?
- For all our drive rails we offer 3 different gearing options
| Gear Ratios | 12.51 to 1 | 10.83 to 1 | 8.3 to 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4" Wheels | ~7 Fps | ~8 Fps | ~10.5 Fps |
| 6" Wheels | ~10.5 Fps | ~12 Fps | ~15.5 Fps |
|
Gear Ratios for SS-3-775 | 40.47 to 1 | 29.62 to 1 | 25.83 to 1 |
| 2.5" , 3" , and 4" Wheels | ~8.5 Fps | ~11.5 Fps | ~13.5 Fps |
| 6" Wheels | ~10 Fps | ~14 Fps | ~16 Fps |
| 8" Wheels | ~11.5 Fps | ~15.5 Fps | ~18 Fps |
| Gear Ratios for SS-2-Cim | 17.8 to 1 | 15.5 to 1 | 12.05 to 1 |
| 2.5" , 3" , and 4" Wheels | ~6 Fps | ~7 Fps | ~9 Fps |
| 6" Wheels | ~7.25 Fps | ~8.25 Fps | ~10.75 Fps |
| 8" Wheels | ~8.75 Fps | ~10 Fps | ~ 13 Fps |
Now, with all those questions answered you should be able to put together a part number for a drive rail.
DR- (Number of wheels per side) - (Length of rail) - (Wheel size)
- For DR-2 models the part number also include a gear ratio number as the last part number