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Asked — Edited

Drive Configurations Pros And Cons

Hi everybody...long time reader, first time poster :). I'm jumping into the bot world with a re-build of an old HeathKit Hero Jr.
He has one drive wheel steered by a stepper motor. At the very least a servo would work better than the stepper. It looks like all the projects you all are doing have the skid-steer type drives (like Wall-e) So should I scrap the tricycle configuration and go to 4 or even tracks? I'd like here the pros and cons from the experts!


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#1  
@SteveB Congrats on the HeathKit Hero Jr build... I love that bot... Well, skid steer or differential type steering is not a really good way the steer your bot... I'll qualify that statement by saying it depends on the robot's design and application... People choose 4 wheeled chassis because it as it is simple to build and arguably gives a chassis a bit more stability... Think of a Roomba however, it uses a classic 2 wheeled drive and a castor 3rd wheel... Turning on any surface is precise and smooth... Skid steer works well on low traction surfaces like hardwood and tile floors... Put it on a rug and it will struggle to turn properly... In my opinion your HeathKit Hero Jr would work best with a Roomba type drive system....
If you were designing a bot for outside, then 4 wheeled skid style drive would be best for that application...
United Kingdom
#2  
As Richard said, it's more design/application based than pros and cons based.

If it has the steering wheel setup I would personally keep that, replace the stepper motor for a servo and viola, job done. You could use the stepper motor but to be honest they tend to be more trouble than they are worth.
#3  
Thanks guys! Hadn't thought about floor surfaces and skid steering. I will leave the tricycle arrangement and just replace the steering stepper with a servo. I'm sure there will be a lot more (duh for you)questions as this gets going...be patient with the newb.:)
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