Wheel contest

[CraigHickman]

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your CAD software!

I was randomly designing wheels in Inventor, and I was thinking about how stylish it would be possible to make some wheels. Then I thought, why limit the styles to my own brain. So here's a challenge:

Design in Inventor a wheel. There'll be 2 size classes: 6 inch and 3 inch. The 6 inch wheel must be underneath .8 pounds in weight, and the 3 inch must be under .4 pounds. Post a picture or link to a picture of a wheel you designed in CAD. The most stylish wheel will win at the end!

[Greg Perkins]

With tread or without?

[CraigHickman]

Not too prefrential on tread, so if you don't want to bother, don't. As far as weight, tread is not included.


Also, here's my submission: A 6 inch beauty weighing in at .720 lbs
http://www.hickmanfamily.com/craig/final_spiral.jpg

[Cory]

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5909/wheelrenderedeb4.th.png (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wheelrenderedeb4.png)

6" OD 0.470 lbs

[edit]CAD model replaced with rendered part

[Jeff K.]

What's the prize? :p

[GMKlenklen]

yah... you better send us some cake or something...

[Greg Perkins]

Here's my submission, throwin' it back ol' school style with gold spokes (18).
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/mongothor134/wheel1.jpg

[Ken Leung]

Maybe someone will get inspired by these hubless wheels (http://www.thegreenhead.com/technology/2004/11/osmos-orbital-wheel-no-spokes.php)?

[EricRobodox]

lol, i was working on an old fashioned spoke style as well. old school. but a little different. Maybe ill CAD it out

[=Martin=Taylor=]

http://static.flickr.com/122/274947210_c08bf302f4_o.jpg

We're ridin' spinners, we're ridin' spinners
They don't stop
We're ridin' spinners, we're ridin' spinners
They don't stop :p

-7.5" pneumatic rim (squishes down to 6")
-Gold plated... :cool:
-Spinners... :cool:
-Embossed with our logo... :cool:
-If only we had the $$$

[lukevanoort]

My entry:
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9035/thewheellk6.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thewheellk6.jpg)

6" OD (not including tread)
0.75" wide
3/4" hex for drive
0.746 lbs (no tread)
The base wheel is made completely out of fiberglass, but a layer of gold foil is glued on with an epoxy of some sort.

[colin340]

Not too prefrential on tread, so if you don't want to bother, don't. As far as weight, tread is not included.


Also, here's my submission: A 6 inch beauty weighing in at .720 lbs
http://www.hickmanfamily.com/craig/final_spiral.jpg
720 lb??????

[Nuttyman54]

720 lb?????? Well DUH! don't you see how BIG it is???

[Chuck Glick]

720 lb??????

actually, if you look real close, there's a decimal before the 7. :D

[Not2B]

Here's my old school wooden wheel.

http://static.flickr.com/122/276377879_1b1b0277f3.jpg

Maybe not the most practical...

[Athleticgirl389]

http://static.flickr.com/122/274947210_c08bf302f4_o.jpg
Those have got to be the koolest looking rims I have ever seen! Should make them real rims to put on a car... would have your Logo everywhere you drive :cool:

[Bill_Hancoc]

We're ridin' spinners, we're ridin' spinners
They don't stop
We're ridin' spinners, we're ridin' spinners
They don't stop :p

-7.5" pneumatic rim (squishes down to 6")
-Gold plated... :cool:
-Spinners... :cool:
-Embossed with our logo... :cool:
-If only we had the $$$
Very cool

Animation???

[spinmunky]

Here's an animation i made for Hachiban VIII's wheel.
Here's the GIF
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/spinmunky/fancywheel.gif

and here's the video but photobucket makes it look horrid.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v519/spinmunky/?action=view&current=fancywheelmotionblur.flv

[Michael Hill]

OK, so maybe it's not Inventor or a robot wheel...I used CATIA to do this about a month ago.
http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/2878/rimjh8.png

[Dan Zollman]

Random design for fun. 3 inches; the iProperties box says it's .189 lbs...

http://www.geocities.com/worldbringer/inventor/wheel1.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/worldbringer/inventor/wheel2.jpg

The tread should have more raised lines on it between the FIRST logo imitations, but the emboss was taking forever to calculate the way it is now, so I left that out for now.

[sanddrag]

Wow, that's hot. You've got to tell me how you did the FIRST logo on the curved surface like that.

[Dan Zollman]

After revolving the inside part of the tire, I created a sketch normal to the tire's surface. Then I drew up the FIRST logo. (It's just an imitation of the logo; I guess you could trace a sketch on top of the real logo image to make it exact. All those dimensions are there just because I wanted it to be fully constrained.)

http://www.geocities.com/worldbringer/inventor/ScreenShot001.jpg

Then I made a rectangular pattern of the logo, inside the same sketch, making sure that the width of the pattern did not extend past pi * diameter of tire surface.

http://www.geocities.com/worldbringer/inventor/ScreenShot002.jpg

Then I embossed the sketch, choosing a raised emboss and "Wrap to Face" with the tire surface.

http://www.geocities.com/worldbringer/inventor/ScreenShot003.jpg

You could also emboss one instance of the logo and circular pattern the Emboss as a feature.

[Madison]

OK, so maybe it's not Inventor or a robot wheel...I used CATIA to do this about a month ago.

Gah. Catia looks more bizarre even than Pro/E.

[[527]phil]

I gave up learning Catia once i got my hands on Inventor, lol.

This isn't really a wheel, it's a Cog, and it's not done yet but I figured what the heck.
http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/11/32216194190.jpg

[SamC]

This is my first real object made in CAD... So if you actually know CAD, please PM me and give me some tips on making "real-life" objects, (ie. wheels, robotics parts, etc...) So here it is.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9401/wheel2hd7.png


-3" Chrome Wheel
-0.5" Wide
-(Supposedly...) 1.5lb
-3/4" Hex Drive

So it's more of a work of art, so I guess you could call it a "Couch Signature" it's one of a kind, never to be reproduced again... LOL

[sanddrag]

How does the inside of the wheel attach to the outside? Am I missing something? Also, 1.5lbs is quite heavy for a wheel that size. (in FRC anyhow) What is the material? Also, you may not want to put a zillion holes in it. That will take a while to drill. And how do you plan to make the cutouts? Laser? Waterjet? You can't mill that. The milling cutter has some radius to it. The machinists I know like to use a 3/8" diameter tool at the smallest. Makes life easier.

[SamC]

Yeah I know, I am just learning how to use CAD, so this wheel design is definitely not realistic to use. Didn't really think about how this would be machined or anything. But if you have any CAD tips, please do PM me.

Thanks for the "constructive" criticism.

[CraigHickman]

One of the best things you can do to improve your CAD is to learn to machine. Once you know the constraints of your machines, you know how crazy you can get with your designs. Plus, it makes it easier on your machinists if you design something that can be machined easily.

[Dan Zollman]

Yeah, my wheel is definitely NOT something to consider for production...

[Greg Needel]

not really anything that special but I like it.... .67lbs for the 6 inch

http://team73.org/ideas/rim.jpg

[Tom Bottiglieri]

Old Faithful -

http://i10.tinypic.com/2gtuuqp.jpg

[petek]

not really anything that special but I like it.... .67lbs for the 6 inchTwo words: stress concentration

http://www.madisongroup.com/services/failure/casefilter/sec_zoom_stress_web.jpg

[Greg Needel]

Two words: stress concentration


Wheels that don't break were never part of the contest....I would have to analyze these before I built them (I probably wouldn't) but i still think they look pretty.:D

[petek]

Wheels that don't break were never part of the contest....I would have to analyze these before I built them (I probably wouldn't) but i still think they look pretty.:DSorry - guess I shoulda read the rule before posting!

OK, so here's my "keep it stone-age, stupid" entry:

http://home.epix.net/~pkiesel/misc/FllintstoneWheel.jpg

Six of these babies should solve a lot of toppling bot problems!

[Master Dictator]

What program did you use for the stress calculations? Thats kinda useful.

[petek]

What program did you use for the stress calculations? Thats kinda useful.Sorry - I just linked a picture from Google for an engineering company's site (http://www.madisongroup.com/). I can't claim to be an expert in the stess analysis field - I just play one on TV, er CD, er - okay, so call me a poser!

[Dan Zollman]

What program did you use for the stress calculations? Thats kinda useful.

Inventor 10 and up does stress analysis.

[Greg Needel]

Inventor 10 and up does stress analysis.

does is a relative word....if you are going to use any FEA software please understand that there is more to it then clicking "analyze" and getting the answer. You must understand mesh size, load positioning, load types, etc. FEA can be great but it can also give you a false sense of security...kinda like a radar detector; it will detect a police officers but won't tell you where they are.

[Dan Zollman]

does is a relative word....if you are going to use any FEA software please understand that there is more to it then clicking "analyze" and getting the answer. You must understand mesh size, load positioning, load types, etc. FEA can be great but it can also give you a false sense of security...kinda like a radar detector; it will detect a police officers but won't tell you where they are.

If one understands mesh, load positioning, etc. (which I don't :) ) can Inventor's stress analysis feature be used to get accurate results?

[Madison]

I needed something stronger than our typical omniwheels because they'll be cantilevered and exposed in the design I'm working with now.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1451/xomnijb3.th.jpg (http://img142.imageshack.us/my.php?image=xomnijb3.jpg)

There's no reason wheels can't show a bit of team spirit :)

[Tom Bottiglieri]

If one understands mesh, load positioning, etc. (which I don't :) ) can Inventor's stress analysis feature be used to get accurate results?
I never got Inventors stress analysis to work quite right. I prefer CosmosWorks (a plugin for Solid Works). Inventor will output to ANSYS, though. That probably wont be much help to you now, but maybe when you go to college and there's network licenses :)