Crab Drive System

Overview
2003 By Shayne Helms
Q & A:
Q: What is a Crab Drive System? What are its benefits rather that a standard drive
system, like a skid-steed system?
A: First off, I shouldnt call this a Crab-drive system. While that is the main function the
system is built for, this is in fact a Multi-Drive system. That basically means that it can
function as different types of systems. In fact, my system is designed so that it can
function as ANY type of drive system commonly used in FIRST. You can switch which
drive method to use in game in a matter of milli-seconds.
Crab drive means that it can move like a crab does. Instead of turning to go around an
obstacle, for example, it simply turns all 4 of its wheels to the right instantly, moves to
the right, and shift them forward again, and moves forward. See illustration below:
Figure 1.1 Crab Drive v. Skid-Steering Drive

In this Figure, the blue line represents the side of the field.
The red arrows show the movement of the robots.
The top set is a Skid-Steer drive system, and the bottom is a Crab Drive.
Frame 1: Both robots address the obstacle up-front.
Frame 2: The Skid-bot backs up and turns, hoping to drive around the obstacle. The crab
dive bot simply slides to the right, it does not turn. It has already gotten into the clear area
where it can pass the obstacle, while the skid-bot has not yet.

Frame 3: The Crab drive bot simply moves forward past the obstacle. It has accomplished
its goal. The Skid steer bot begins to drive forward and tries to evenly pass around the
object. It has taken it all 3 steps before it can begin to do so.
Another point I want to bring up is the Blue side bar. Notice how the Skid-bots right side
is never parallel to the side. It is always uneven while trying to turn and maneuver around
the object. However, the Crab-bot is ALWAYS parallel to the side of the field, even when
passing the obstacle. It does not have to worry about straightening, or where it might
have problems rounding the corner. Another Highly useful benefit to this style of drive is
its usability during autonomous mode.
Q: But if the Crab-Drive doesnt turn, what happens if you DO need to turn?
A: As I stated before, this is actually a Multi-function drive. Instead of pivoting the
wheels to strafe around the playing field, the driver can simply switch to Skid-Steering
mode. In this mode he will use one joystick, so that an even amount of input is applied to
each half of the drive. This ensures that the robot will spin in place evenly. In this drive
mode each side (left and right) moves forward or reverse. Turning simply means
reversing one side. This is the method of drive used on The Claw in the 2003 season,
and it worked well, but it did have several issues that couldve been solved with a multi
function drive.
Q: So what are all the different kinds of drive styles that it can use?
A: Well, the Three most Common types of drive systems used in FIRST are these:
-Skid Steering
-Car Steering
-Crab Drive
This drive system can perform all 3 of these and can switch between them
instantaneously. The list is really only confined to what kind of styles you can think of
which use 4 pivoting wheels.
Q: What is Car Steering Drive?
A: Car steering drive is where two wheels pivot left and right to supply the turning while
they move forward or reverse. This drive can be implemented by shifting one of the sets
of crab drive wheels while the other two remain locked forward.

Q: Ok, Im grasping the abilities of this system. How does it all work?
A: Ah, the nitty-gritty. Well, the system consists of several things:
4 wheel assemblies
2 wheel pivoting chain systems (one for each side)

2 forward/reverse chain systems (one for each side)

To make a little sense of this, lets look at another picture:

This is a slightly sideways view of HALF of the crab drive, for example, the left half.
The blue objects are motors, the gold objects are industrial beveled gears, and the black
objects are sprockets. In this picture you can see two wheel assemblies with both the
pivoting motor (the upright motor) and the drive motor (the horizontal motor).

Lets start by looking at how the drive force is applied to the wheels:

This is the same model as shown on the previous page, viewed from overhead.
The drive system is very similar to the one used last year.
A sprocket coming off of the drive motor is connected by chain to a larger sprocket on the
first axle. There is a smaller sprocket on this axle which carries chain to an equally sized
sprocket on the second axle.
Both axles go through a bearing and contain a beveled gear. That beveled gear is in a
direct 90-degree contact with the beveled gear at the top of the wheel assembly. Now the
force is at the Wheel Assembly. Lets see where it goes from there:

This is a side view of our model. You can see the two beveled gears at the top, which we
just discussed. The Wheel Assemblys Beveled Gear passes through its pivoting
sprocket. This sprocket is not keyed onto the axle, but it is mounted at the base to the
whole wheel assembly. This shaft is turned by the topmost beveled gear, which turns the
lower horizontal beveled gear. The lower horizontal beveled gear is connected to the
top shaft of the wheel assembly. This shaft has a sprocket on it, which is keyed to the
shaft. This sprocket is connected by chain to the sprocket on the Lower shaft of the wheel
assembly, which is keyed, and therefore turns the wheel.
Now, this may seem quite a travel from the motor to the wheel, but in reality it is not that
long a path. And, it is all done this way for one reason so that each set of wheels can
pivot around independently in any direction while drive force is being applied.

Heres another picture:

This is a front view of the half of the crab drive. The final aspect of the system is here.
The pivoting motor, a worm-geared motor (preferably the window motors, since we
receive 2) is connected by sprocket and chain to the pivoting sprockets on the two wheel
assemblies. This turns them both at the same time. So, in a typical driving scenario, all 4
wheels are driving forward. The operator moves his stick right. Each wheel assembly
(while supplying forward drive) pivots the wheels right 90-degrees then locks.
If he wants to drive skid steer, the pivoting motor does not move the wheels while each
side reverses its drive to turn.
If he wants to drive car-style, the one side of the drive (left for example) will pivot right
and left while the right side remains facing left, or forward, in this case.
The driver could have a default drive mode. Holding one of the two buttons on the
joystick would switch to a different drive-method. And it would all work instantaneously.
Q: This seems like a fragile, expensive, and complicated system. Why shouldnt we just
go for the skid steering design again?
A: There are many answer to this question. First, let me address the fragility of this
system. While this system does seem fragile, it is actually more durable than most chain
systems used (including our claw drive system), due to the fact that it uses heavy-duty
industrial beveled gears, chain and sprocket. The beveled gears I have researched have
large teeth, with a good amount of strength, so they should not strip or pop. If, however,
they do have problems, we can order extras, and they can be changed in a matter of
minutes.
As for the chain, I think we demonstrated this past year its abilities, and this system uses
a more-linear design with the chain, which should make it easier to adapt.
Also, this driving chassis is a lot more lightweight than most other drive systems. Using
thinner and lighter wheels, less chain and more gears, and a smaller space to occupy, this

system had many uses. As for pricing, most of the components should already be
included in the kit. Materials for the chassis, drive motors, and several other accessories
come in it. Things we would need to purchase include:
-Sprocket and Chain
-Beveled Gears
-Stock metal (this goes for the whole robot anyway)
-Possibly wheels
Most of these are listed at lower prices than what was paid last year in the MSC catalog,
and are always in stock. Their closest shipping center is in Pennsylvania, so shipping
would arrive on time. As far as the complexity goes, this is not much different from last
years drive system. The most intricate part is the wheel assembly. All that must be done is
to have 4 wheel assemblies made and the main plate, and it is complete.
My strong belief is that in the long run, using this type of drive system will STRONGLY
benefit the operation of our robot, open easier opportunities for accomplishing tasks, and
also present the chance of winning a design award at competition. If executed correctly,
the construction of this drive system would be one of the most useful devices on our
robot.