Wheels
 

Hey Guys,

I'm looking to purchase some new wheels for our robot, to do some drive train experiements for an upcoming scrimage and next year.

I'm looking to purchase:
2 Omniwheels
4 Regular drive train wheels

-Ideally these should be around 4 or 5 inchs in diameter but 6 is fine too.
-Also if at all possible they should have a 5/8 bore with keyway.

I've looked hard and found some possible ideas, however if I could get some links from people who have actually used the wheels I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

Craig

Re: Wheels
 

I would suggest IFI Robotics for the regular wheels...their traction wheels are unbeatable in my opinion. We used them last year and had no problems with them all year, other than having to replace tread since it was worn out but that was expected.

Re: Wheels
 

We had looked into those wheels, however felt they were a little on the expensive side... While we are not ruling out the option we just want to look around a little more.

Re: Wheels
 

Check out http://andymark.biz/products.htm
They have two varieties of 6" and 8" omni-wheels (aluminum and plastic). They also carry 4", 5", & 6" Traction wheels. The traction wheels are built to use dead axles, but AM also carries a "Universal Hub" with a 1/2" bore and 1/8" keyway. You could either modify your shafts to 1/2", build your own hubs, or modify their hubs to fit your shafts. Depending on your robot design, they shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Re: Wheels
 

if you are looking for "normal" wheels you can tryskyway wheels

they have a large selection, at decent prices, if you don't find what you are looking for on the web page, just give them a ring, their quite happy to help you in your search.

Re: Wheels
 

If you are short on cash you can make nice treaded wheels from skyways. like this

Our team did the same thing the last two years with the waffle tread.

Re: Wheels
 

I've seen some nice, cheap, simple wheels made of a couple pieces of MDF glued together with tread screwed to the outside. Counterbore with a forstner bit for a couple of bearings, and bolt a sprocket to it with a bit of a stand-off and you might be surprised how cheaply you can build a wheel. Go back with a holesaw and cut out some "speed holes" and you might be surprised how lightweight the resulting product is.

If you wanted them to look really nice, use baltic birch plywood, inlay some purpleheart and black walnut, and give it a nice hard varnish finish...

Jason