Tri Star Wheel

[amesmich]

I am curious to know what other opinions are about Tri Star wheel set up.

To me one big advantage is Lower clearance or CG on flat while having the clearance ability of a larger wheel on obstacle.

I have never made one of these before but we do have in house CNC milling and access to water jet via sponsor/mentor.

[CalTran]

I feel like it wouldn't be as effective as you might hope, since all of the defenses are above ground rather than divots in the ground. A tri-star wheel would probably be stopped dead by things like the 4.5" bar or one of the 3" blocks.
That being said, see if you're team can prototype one, possibly to scale and see how it goes.

[Lil' Lavery]

I feel like it wouldn't be as effective as you might hope, since all of the defenses are above ground rather than divots in the ground. A tri-star wheel would probably be stopped dead by things like the 4.5" bar or one of the 3" blocks.
That being said, see if you're team can prototype one, possibly to scale and see how it goes.

That's not really true. Teams have utilized tri-wheel designs in order to climb objects in the past. 1218 (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/17468) reached Einstein in 2004 with a tri-wheel designed to climb the center step.

[amesmich]

Yea while I think it would work I am starting to think its unnecessary with no efficiency advantage. Thanks