Tanks can pass through difficult terrains due to their chain treads and the way those chain treads are constructed. Let's review the chain tread's construction in greater detail

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- #962
- 12 Dec 2016
Tank's chain treads look pretty much like this:
The blue wheels in the image above are called drive wheels. Usually only one of them is connected to the engine, depending on whether the tank is front or rear-wheel drive. The other wheel spins freely and therefore it's called "a sloth". The brown wheels on top, which support the chain and keep it under tension, are called return rollers. The red serves as a prop and gives additional strength through the obstacles. Last, but not least, the green wheels hold the structure together and move along the road. They are called road wheels.
What sets apart the chain tread of our robot?
The chain of our robot has a triangular shape, which makes it stable enough, but the lack of a board makes it harder to pass through more serious obstacles.Usually the best all-round chain shape is an upside-down trapezoid. It will make the construction stable and it will be able to clime over or pass through almost any obstacle. Of course, building such a construction takes a lot of time and we'll not be doing this today.
Courses and lessons with this Tutorial
This Tutorial is used in the following courses and lessons

Level B1. "Spy gadgets". Robotics with LEGO
The third level of the Robotics with LEGO curriculum for students in second, third or fourth grades.
In these lessons, we stress on more complex and challenging robots. The concept of Condition is introduced. Students learn about physics concepts of inertia and center of mass. Robots with two sensors are built and students program both of them. Programming becomes more complex as robots now can make complex decisions. "Spy"-robots sneakily follow their targets, trying to be undetected.
- 30
- 7:30
- 108

Lesson 6 - Spy on Threads
In the next lesson we usually do a graduation. Write down your impressions about the students and the reasons why they have the grades you gave them.
- 6
- 3
- 2
- 3d_rotation 1

Robotics with LEGO - Level 1.5 - Spy games
The second level of the Robotics with LEGO curriculum for students from fifth to twelfth grades.
Students build multiple robots with thread chains and become familiar with the physical concepts of momentum and center of gravity. The concept of gears, their use and basic constructions involving gears are studied.
The new concept of "condition" is introduced in programming. Robots are becoming smarter as they can make complex decisions on their own. "Spy robots" follow their targets and avoid being noticed. This level introduces the light sensor which the robots use to recognize the colors of the objects they are looking for. Robots can stop on a black line and follow a route marked with a colored line on the floor.
The spy's most complex mission in the end of the level is to turn into a sumo wrestler and defeat any other robot in the ring.
- 56
- 12:47
- 136

Lesson 6 - Humanoid robot
In the next lesson we usually do a graduation. Write down your impressions about the students and the reasons why they have the grades you gave them.
- 5
- 5
- 10
- 3d_rotation 1