Quote:
Originally Posted by EricH
Ask ChrisH--he worked with the sponsoring company for work. I want to say that it was a 3D Systems machine, or something like that, but I could be wrong. Wasn't a Dimension, though. (I'm also guessing that there was some experimental stuff involved--I'm not entirely certain about that--or what was being played with--by any means.)
Nope, no metal reinforcement. Even the steel axles weren't reinforcement. As a matter of fact, the metal VEX wheels has some problems with their "fins" bending during assembly. Though that design would be a REALLY interesting one to take full-scale--it provided a very smooth ride due to the sheer number of rollers. It combined an "internal" hub (like most custom wheels, say 357) with an "external" hub (like the AM wheels), and when assembled was strong enough for VEX-scale use (EDUBot at the time).
The machine type was definitely one that could be used for industrial production.
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I can see how they would've held up then.
The issue I have with telling people to 3D print mecanum wheels is that '3D Printing' is a very, very general term. Most people who have access to 3D printers can only print in ABS or similar materials (Think Dimension Machines, which seem to be the most common), which from what I've seen in my own testing is no where near strong enough to make a wheel from. (Partially due to ABS, partially due to how the machine lays out the layers)
If you're talking about a higher end machine like an FDM or something even better than that that can print in something like Polycarb, Polycarb ABS or Ultem (A plastic used in Fortus FDM machines) then I could see printing a Mecanum as a viable (but somewhat expensive) option. Considering that most teams don't have access to a $100,000 + 3D Printer, I still stand by my recommendation to NOT 3D print wheels, unless you've got the right machine and use the right material.